Prof. Dr. Timm Betz

Academic Career and Research Areas

Prof. Betz (b. 1986) focuses on international political economy and international institutions. Across political systems and policy areas, political contests play out in the context of international markets and international institutions. Prof. Betz asks questions about the political influence of firms, the policy autonomy of governments, and the role of institutions in explaining government and firm behavior in these environments. His research addresses the institutional sources of trade policy and trade openness; the fragmentation of firms across countries and across owners; and how governments manage sovereign debt. Prof. Betz also works on challenges in the use of observational data, such as interdependence among observations.

Prof. Betz studied at Freie Universität Berlin (BA), the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (MSc), and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (PhD). Prior to joining TUM, he was Assistant, then Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University. In 2020, Prof. Betz was appointed Assistant Professor of International Political Economy at TUM.

Awards

• ERC Starting Grant, European Research Council (2021)
• Lawrence Longley Best Article Award, American Political Science Association (2022)
• Sophonisba Breckinridge Best Paper Award, Midwest Political Science Association (2023)
• Marian Irish Best Paper Award, Southern Political Science Association (2023)
• Best Overall Paper Award, Southern Political Science Association (2023)