Michael Becher

Michael Becher is Assistant Professor in political science at the IE School of Global and Public Affairs. He obtained his PhD from Princeton University. Before joining IE, he held positions at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse and the University of Konstanz.

Michael’s main fields of research are in comparative politics and political economy, with a focus on issues related to the functioning of democracy, accountability and representation, political institutions, and inequality. He is also involved in a large collaborative project that surveys attitudes and behaviors in the COVID-19 pandemic, examining issues surrounding compliance with public health measures as well as political consequences of the crisis. His work has been published in leading journals of the discipline, such as American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, and Perspectives on Politics, and it has been covered in international media outlets like The Washington Post and Le Monde. Michael teaches courses on political economy, research methods, and game theory.

Academic Experience

• Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in political economy, IE University, School of Global and Public Affairs.
• Assistant Professor (tenure-track) political science, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, University of Toulouse Capitole. 2017 – 2020. Parental leave (50%) January – August 2017
• Assistant Professor for political economy, Department of Politics and Public Administration and Graduate School of Decision Sciences, University of Konstanz, Germany. 2013 – 2016. (Successful mid-term review / Zwischenevaluation in 2016)

Academic Background

• PhD. Princeton University, Department of Politics, 2013
• MA. Princeton University, Department of Politics, 2011
• Magister. University of Mannheim, Germany, Degree in Political Science and Economics, 2008

Latest Publications

• Becher, M., Brouard, S. (2020). “Executive Accountability Beyond Outcomes: Experimental Evidence on Public Evaluations of Powerful Prime Ministers”. Forthcoming at American Journal of Political Science.
• Becher, M., Stegmueller, D. (2020). “Reducing Unequal Representation: The Impact of Labor Unions on Legislative Responsiveness in the US Congress”. Forthcoming at Perspectives on Politics.
• Brouard, S., Vasilopoulos, P., Becher, M. (2020). “Sociodemographic and Psychological Correlates of Compliance with the Covid-19 Public Health Measures in France”. Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol, 53(2): 253-258
• Becher, M., Menéndez, I. (2019). “Electoral Reform and Trade-Offs in Representation”. American Political Science Review, Vol. 113(3): 694-709
• Becher, M. (2019). “Dissolution Power, Confidence Votes, and Policymaking in Parliamentary Democracies”. Journal of Theoretical Politics, Vol. 31(2): 183-208.