Katja Bender

Prof. Dr. Katja Bender is a Professor of Economics at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, where she serves as Director of the International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE) and Vice Dean for Research, Transfer, and Internationalization. She is also Deputy President of the European Association for Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI).

• Professor of Economics (Economic & Social Development)
• Vice Dean for Research, Transfer, and Internationalization
• Director, International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE)
• Deputy President, European Association for Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI)

Her research focuses on the political economy of social protection and health systems in low- and middle-income countries, with a specific interest in the Energy-Health-Nexus, institutional and technological change, and international research-practice cooperation. She has conducted fieldwork in Sub-Saharan Africa (Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania) and South/Southeast Asia (India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam).

Her recent publications analyze social protection reforms in Kenya, intersectoral collaboration in Ghana and India, and the poverty-reducing effects of cash transfers. She leads projects funded by organizations such as the BMBF and Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).