Lars Hecker

Lars Hecker is a doctoral researcher at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, affiliated with the Research Center Innovation and International Competition and the Interdisciplinary Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG). He is part of the Kiel Institute Africa Initiative, focusing on African firms' growth, foreign trade performance, technology adoption, and climate-related innovations. His research also addresses supply chain disruptions' impact on firms.

Education: Master’s degree in Economics from Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel. Prior experience includes working as a research assistant at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Research interests span globalization’s environmental implications, innovation dynamics in African markets, and firm-level adaptations to global challenges. His work contributes to policy advice for German and European Africa policy, emphasizing evidence-based approaches.

Key projects include analyzing foreign investment’s environmental costs in China and collaborating on H2ignite to advance green hydrogen deployment in heavy-duty transport. He also contributes to the Cluster for Economic Research on Africa, exploring macroeconomic stability and public finance in African contexts.