Professor Sascha Becker was conferred to the Fellowship of the Academy in autumn 2024. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick, and Professor of Economics (part-time) and Xiaokai Yang Chair of Business and Economics at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Sascha’s research interests lie in economic history, with his work in recent years focusing on forced migration, genocides, the legacy of the Hapsburg Empire, and the persecution of Jewish academics in Nazi Germany and Italy.
Professor Sascha BeckerFAcSS
After initially studying physics and mathematics for two years, Sascha’s interest in applied social sciences drew him into the study of Economics, where he first worked mainly in labour economics, before spending more and more time working on economic history. He enjoys working across disciplines, with some of his published work being done in collaboration with colleagues in history (on the legacy of the Habsburg Empire) and sociology (on the spread of the Protestant Reformation).
He has published more than 50 articles in international journals, including the American Sociological Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics and the American Economic Review, and he is an Editor of The Economic Journal, an Associate Editor or Editorial Board member of: the Quarterly Journal of Economics; the Journal of the European Economic Association; the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics; the Journal of Economic Growth, and the Journal of Economic History.
Sascha is also an elected Fellow of the Econometric Society (FES), as well as a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA), and an elected Fellow of the International Economic Association (FIEA).
Why do the social sciences matter?
The social sciences are important because they help us understand, analyse, and address the complexities of human behaviour, human interactions and society at large.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
On most days, I get up and am excited about going to work – being a social scientist is exciting because the world is constantly changing, and we will never run out of research questions. Although, doing research in the social sciences is really quite hard because people are so complex! Many human behaviours affect not only the individuals themselves, but also the people around them. So individual choices matter for others, and the actions of many potentially matter for society at large. This makes trying to understand human behaviour exciting and important at the same time.
What is the most urgent issue social scientists need to tackle today and within the next three years?
Right now, I am most concerned about the increasing polarisation we are seeing in so many countries, as with this comes an increasing risk that can slip into authoritarianism. So, to my mind, understanding how to stop this trend is of utmost importance.
What does being a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences mean to you?
I am honoured and humbled that my colleagues in the Academy of Social Sciences found me worthy of joining their ranks. The social sciences are often under-appreciated in public discourse, yet they play a vital role in analysing our constantly changing world. Results of a study in country X will not necessarily apply in country Y for example. All the more, the Academy of Social Sciences matters as the flagship body for social science researchers and practitioners in the UK to advocate for the important knowledge, insights and understanding that the social sciences provide to the general public, and to policymakers.