Michael Bechtel joins the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence and the Cologne Center for Comparative Politics (CCCP) at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne as Professor of Political Economy, starting January 1, 2022.
Previously, Bechtel held faculty positions at Washington University in St. Louis and University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He received his habilitation from ETH Zurich in 2012 and completed his PhD in Political Science at the University of Konstanz in 2008.
Bechtel’s interdisciplinary research agenda explores research questions that figure prominently in both political science and economics. His academic work investigates how countries can address economic and environmental risks that tend to require redistribution. Current projects focus on the drivers of mass support for global climate action and the impact of economic crises and natural disasters on elections.
“With his interdisciplinary focus on economic and environmental policy, Michael Bechtel will be an excellent addition to strengthen the cluster’s research profile. We are very much looking forward to the collaboration,” says Matthias Heinz, spokesperson of ECONtribute in Cologne.