Recommendations for Professors/Programs

[polecon09]

hi -

i am new to this forum and relatively new to political science. i am planning on applying for poli sci ph.d. programs this fall. i have a background in international development (undergrad) and economics (masters). i want to do a international political economy program, i'm interested in topics like trade, foreign direct investment, and international regulation of multinational corporations. i would like the program to be quantitative, or to at least have the option for me to take econ and statistics classes.

i don't know who the major players (professors) are in these fields in poli sci and which schools are best and which mid-tier? also, how specific do i need to be in my interests when applying?

thank you for any advice you can lend!

p.s. if i've cowritten a paper with 2 professors (which i hope to be published) should i send this in as my writing sample or something i wrote on my own?