معرفی
Axel Dreher is Professor of International and Development Politics at Heidelberg University’s Alfred-Weber-Institute for Economics. He is a leading scholar in political economy and development economics, with extensive affiliations including the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, CEPR, CESifo, KOF, AidData, and EUDN. He serves as Editor of the Review of International Organizations and Co-Director of the Center for European Studies (CefES) at the University of Milan-Bicocca.
- Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg (2011–Present)
- Georg-August University Göttingen (2008–2011)
- ETH Zurich (2005–2008)
- University of Konstanz (2004–2005)
- University of Exeter (2003–2004)
- University of Mannheim (2000–2003)
His research centers on political economy, economic development, foreign aid, and globalization. He investigates how political institutions, leadership incentives, and geopolitical interests shape development outcomes and international financial flows. His work often employs empirical and geospatial methods to analyze aid allocation, corruption, migration, and the rise of emerging donors like China.
The 15 most recent publications reflect a strong focus on China’s overseas development finance, regional favoritism, and the political determinants of aid. Keywords span political economy, development economics, and international relations, with subfields including Chinese foreign aid, geospatial analysis, governance, institutional quality, and South-South cooperation. His recent book Banking on Beijing and award-winning paper Wedded to Prosperity exemplify his cutting-edge contributions to understanding the political economy of development.
Scientific awards include:
- 2023 Best Paper Award, Political Economy of Aid Society (PEAS)
- 2023 Best New Dataset Award, International Political Economy Society
- International Geneva (IG) Award 2020
- Excellence in Refereeing Award, World Bank Economic Review (2019)
- 2010 KfW Excellence Award for policy-relevant research
- Multiple DFG and Swiss research grants
Dreher has advised over 30 PhD students on topics ranging from aid effectiveness to political violence and migration. He has received major research grants from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS), European Commission, and VolkswagenStiftung. His leadership roles include organizing the annual Political Economy of International Organizations conference series and serving on editorial boards of top journals such as World Development and Defence and Peace Economics.
He is actively involved in academic labs and research networks including the Courant Research Center on Poverty and Equity at Göttingen, AidData at William & Mary, and the Center for European Studies (CefES). His current work continues to explore the intersection of politics, development, and globalization, particularly through georeferenced data and natural experiments.
