Prof., Ph.D. Timo Goeschl
Professor at the Alfred Weber Institute for Economics at Heidelberg University, HCE member since 2011.
There really is only one key research question: "How can we use behaviorally informed economics to better understand, and improve, environmental problems?" -- To answer this question, you are as likely to find in a Land Rover hauling subsidized fishing nets to fishers in East Africa, on the Internet experimenting with thousands of U.S. crowd workers, or in my office poring over equations.
Why I joined the HCE
As an environmental economist, my research benefits from close interaction with natural and social scientists. What better than joining a center that can draw on the world-class expertise available at Heidelberg?
My highlights so far
HCE researchers have been among the first to undertake a cross-disciplinary effort to study solar radiation management, one form of what has become known as "geo-engineering". This effort demonstrate the potential of Heidelberg to tackle novel societal problems of global import in a a world-leading fashion.
More recently, HCE researchers have moved down to the micro-level: There are fascinating and highly promising research questions that arise in hyper-local emissions data provision and its impact on climate action.
My key partners
From political science to physics: I have benefitted from the intellect and expertise of a great many colleagues at the HCE, either in joint projects or simply by listening. Beyond the HCE, I have been lucky to count many environmental researchers among my partners, both in Germany and abroad.