Projects
Economic and Ideological Causes of Political Radicalization and Violence: Evidence From the 1789 French Revolution
Funders: Volkswagen Foundation (VW) and Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MWK) under the Research Cooperation Lower Saxony - IsraelPartners: Dr. Richard Bluhm (University of Stuttgart), Dr. Raphäel Franck (Hebrew University), Dr. Gerda Asmus-Bluhm, Dr. Andreas Fuchs, Atanas V. Spasov (University of Göttingen)
Website: Project (Grants Database)
Abstract: This project investigates the deep economic and ideological causes of political radicalization and revolutionary violence by providing a historical perspective on the 1789 French Revolution. The project studies the incentives of the three main agents at work during the revolution: the ‟Stateˮ, the ‟peopleˮ and the revolutionary leaders. The novel contribution of this project is to combine political economy and history to determine which economic, ideological, and political transformations contributed to the radicalization of the population. We will make use of novel archival data covering all of France or using new microdata for Paris jointly with state-of-the-art causal inference techniques. By focusing on events just before the start of the 1789 Revolution or immediately after its outbreak, the proposal aims at determining not only the root causes of revolutionary violence but also its mechanisms.
ENOUGH – a new EU project that will identify how food industry can become net zero by 2050
Funder: European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under grant agreement No. 101036588Partners: Sintef Ocean, London South Bank University, University of Birmingham, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, INRAE, KU Leuven, IIF-IIR, CNR-ITC, ANIA, EFFoS, TU GRAZ, VcbT, Vytautas Magnus University, Silesian University of Technology, Università Politecnica Delle Marche, Dr. Ianna Dantas, Dr. Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso (University of Göttingen)
Period: 2022 - 2025
Website: Summary of the Project
Abstract: Food systems are globally responsible for 20% to almost 40% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Over the whole food chain, approximately 60% of food should be refrigerated at some point, and it is estimated that approximately 70% of emissions from food are related to perishable foods. The main source of emissions is related to energy use within the food chain, but leakage of high GWP refrigerant is another relevant source. Thus, the main scope of the project is to support the EU farm to fork sustainable strategy by providing technical, financial, and political tools and solutions to reduce GHG emissions (by 2030) and achieve carbon neutrality (by 2050) in the food industry.
China in Africa: Exploring the Consequences for Economic and Social Development
Funder: Leibniz AssociationPartners: Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Dr. Andreas Fuchs, Dr. Lennart Kaplan, Dr. Krisztina Kis-Katos (University of Göttingen)
Period: 2021 - 2025
Website: China in Africa
Abstract: Since the turn of the millennium, as part of its “going out” policy, China has heavily expanded its engagement in Africa. China’s rapidly growing economic activities are visible across the African continent in its bilateral trade, investment overseas, development aid activities, and migratory pattern. While economic theory suggests net benefits of increased competition and global integration, Chinese activities are frequently criticized for their potential adverse consequences on African countries and their citizens. In this research project, our team focuses on the effects and determinants of Chinese aid and trade. In particular, we will evaluate how China’s engagement affects African citizens’ socioeconomic well-being and political attitudes.
Coming to America: Immigration, Political Campaigning, and Polarization
Funder: German Research Foundation (DFG)Partners: Dr. Axel Dreher, Johannes Matzat, M.A. (Heidelberg University); Dr. Christopher Parsons (University of Western Australia), Dr. Sarah Langlotz, Lucero Carballo Madrigal (University of Göttingen)
Period: 2021 - 2023
Abstract: As immigration has become an important wedge issue in elections, politicians have tried to influence political outcomes by instrumentalizing immigrants in political campaigns. Understanding the conditions under which these campaigns are successful, as well as the type of donor reacting to these campaigns, will further our understanding of the role of political campaigns in the political impact of immigration. The proposed project draws on unique and previously unexploited individual-level microdata on the universe of refugees that entered the United States between 1975 and 2015, which we extend with county-level refugee data up to 2018. Moreover, we develop a new identification strategy based on an arbitrary distance threshold within refugees without family ties in the US have to be settled. Altogether, we will examine novel questions, introduce new data, and develop new identification strategies.
Empirical Analyses of Emerging Donors in Development Cooperation
Funder: German Research Foundation (DFG)Partners: Dr. Axel Dreher (Heidelberg University), Dr. Bradley C. Parks (The College of William & Mary), Dr. André Gröger, Dr. Andreas Fuchs (University of Göttingen)
Period: 2020 - 2022
Website: Project Details
Abstract: This project intends to contribute to the empirical aid literature by investigating the allocation and effectiveness of development finance provided by emerging actors in the field of development cooperation. The project aims to extend the literature in three important dimensions. First, building on our previous research, we plan to continue to construct new and better data to address data scarcity on emerging aid flows at a detailed level. Second, we intend to focus on the subnational analysis of emerging aid using geocoded data, remote-sensing data, and spatial econometrics methods. This will substantially increase statistical power compared to conventional analyses at the national level. Third, we want to contribute to the growing literature that moves beyond the analysis of GDP to measure economic development, by using more nuanced determinants of human well-being and behavior. In particular, we seek to address the multidimensional nature of a nation’s prosperity, by analyzing the effects of aid on health, migration, and public perception of donor governments.