Prof. Dr. Simon Fink

Simon Fink, born 1977, studied political science, law and psychology at the University of Konstanz, where he obtained his MA in 2002. In 2007, he obtained his PhD in the graduate school "Markets and Social Systems in Europe", funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) at the University of Bamberg. From 2009 on, he worked as lecturer at the Chair for Comparative Politics at the University of Bamberg. Since April 1st 2017, he is Professor for the Political System of Germany at the University of Göttingen, and Director of Studies of Euroculture.

Simon Fink´s research is focused on the analysis of public policy. His last major project studied the diffusion of privatization policies in the OECD world and elucidated how learning, emulation and competition drive the spread of new policies. His dissertation dealt with religious influence on embryo research policies and showed that cultural factors do indeed influence public policies. Currenty, Simon Fink is working on a project studying public participation in German electricity grid expansion policies. The question is whether public participation really causes changes in policy decisions about electricity grids.

A list of his publications, a more detailed CV, and information about current projects can be found here: simonfink.wordpress.com