Philipp Barteska

Philipp Barteska is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Hong Kong, having joined in summer 2025 after a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School. His research bridges development economics, political economy, and organizational economics with a focus on bureaucratic capacity in policy implementation.

His academic credentials:

• PhD in Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), 2024
• MRes in Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), 2019
• MSc in Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 2016
• BSc in Economics, University of Mannheim, 2015

Barteska investigates how state capacity affects firms in developing countries, particularly examining why industrial policies succeed or fail based on bureaucratic quality. His work combines historical analysis (Korean export promotion), contemporary field experiments (Haiti's public sector), and policy evaluations (Indian FDI regulations) to demonstrate that implementation capacity often outweighs policy design.

His 2023 publications reveal critical patterns: bureaucratic ability explains 37-40% export increases in Korea, vaccination campaigns boost education outcomes, and Haitian bureaucrats' social networks form productive Weberian structures despite state fragility. These studies consistently show policy effectiveness collapses under low-capacity implementers.

Recognition includes:

• LSE Class Teacher Bonus Award (2020-2023) for exceptional student evaluations averaging 4.6/5

Barteska secured RCT funding for Addis Ababa labor market research and collaborates with James A. Robinson on Haiti projects. His teaching spans LSE, London Business School, and UPF across development economics, public economics, and advanced microeconomics. Current fieldwork in Ethiopia examines bureaucrat-firm trust building through embedded meetings.

He co-leads research teams in Haiti investigating bureaucratic networks through surveys and behavioral games, while developing new projects on state capacity in fragile contexts through Harvard-Kennedy School partnerships.