The Economics of Innovation, Trade and Development

Welcome!

I am a Professor of the Economics of Innovation, Trade and Development, currently Head of the Economics of Innovation, Trade and Development (ITD) research unit at RWTH Aachen University.

The central focus of my work is on the interrelationships between (digital) technology, energy, entrepreneurship, trade, and planetary habitability.

The global growth-based economic system is unsustainable and threatens planetary habitability, and is manifested in a “Guns, Oil and Oligarch” nexus, as I explain in my most recent book.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus defied the tyrannical Zeus, secretly stealing the forbidden fire from the gods' hearth for humanity. While the gift of fire (innovation, technology) sparked human progress, it also ignited Zeus's wrath, leading to the unleashing of Pandora's Box upon humanity, introducing suffering, disease, and countless evils into the world.