Kai Gehring

Professor of Economics, University of St. Gallen (HSG)

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I am a Professor of Economics at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). I am also an Affiliate Researcher at the Wyss Academy for Nature and a research professor associated with the ifo Institute in Munich, and a member of CESifo, the European Development Network (EUDN), and the Development Economics Committee of the German Economic Association.

My research is in political economy, development and public economics. I build theories grounded in economics and neighbouring disciplines and test them rigorously with modern econometric methods — often using novel administrative, geographical or historical data — to answer socially relevant questions in developed and developing countries, emphasising the role of culture, norms and history.

Previously, I was Professor of Political Economy and Sustainable Development at the University of Bern (2021–2026), and before that an SNSF Ambizione senior researcher at the University of Zurich. My PhD is from the University of Goettingen (advisor Axel Dreher), with research stays at Harvard, Cambridge and Stanford.

Research themes

Distributional Conflict over Resources

From democratic secessionism in wealthy regions to violent conflict among pastoralists and farmers.

Identity and Political Preferences

How group identities and horizontal inequalities shape preferences about redistribution and power.

Narratives and Information

Using NLP and LLMs to understand how narratives about climate, nature and migration shape politics.

International Organizations & Development Finance

The political economy of the EU, IMF and World Bank, and the effectiveness of development aid.