Bettina Becker is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She joined Aston Business School in January 2014. Previous positions include Senior Research Officer at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) in London and Lecturer in Economics. Bettina holds a PhD in Economics from Birkbeck College at the University of London, an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, and a Dipl.-Volksw. (MA Economics equivalent) from the University of Bonn, one year of which she studied at the University of Cambridge.

Bettina's research interests lie in the areas of innovation, in particular innovation policy, social and inclusive innovation, entrepreneurship and SMEs, regions, productivity.

Bettina's research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Anglo-German Foundation, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Ministry of Finance, and the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), among others. Bettina's work is published in international journals including Research Policy, Regional Studies, Small Business Economics and International Journal of Finance and Economics. She has presented her research at numerous high-profile conferences and was guest editor of a special issue on Ten Years of European Monetary Union. She has served as grant application peer reviewer for the ESRC and the DFG.

In her free time, Bettina enjoys hiking, playing music, and voluntary charity work.

• 'Innovation: to abandon or to pursue? An investigation of innovation abandonment decision-making', Visitor Scheme, Aston Academy for Research in Management, for project partner's research visit at Aston Business School (J. Bourke, University College Cork), 2018/19 [£ 875]

• ‘Innovation: to abandon or to pursue?’, co-organisation of an International Symposium, Research Strategic Development Fund, College of Business & Law, University College Cork (as co-applicant, with J. Bourke, 2018/ 2019) [€ 2,000]

• ‘Inclusive innovation, social entrepreneurship and mission-led business in the UK’, Seed Corn grant, from Aston Academy for Research in Management (joint with U. Stephan and M. Hart, 01/2018 – 07/2018; Aston Business School) [£ 1001.27]
• ‘The impact of policy support on firms’ innovation outcomes and business performance', State of the Art (SOTA) review, commissioned by Enterprise Research Centre (November 2018) [£ 1,000]

• ‘Innovation, internationalisation and growth’ (as Co-investigator, with J. Love and N. Hewitt-Dundas), within Enterprise Research Centre Phase 3, funded by ESRC, BEIS, Innovate UK, British Business Bank (Principal investigator: S. Roper; ERC at Warwick and Aston Business Schools, with Leeds, Cork and Queen’s Business Schools) [£ 4,458]

• 'Linking SME Data to the Science Base - An Exploratory Study of Growth and Productivity Effects', project 8 of Enterprise Research Centre Phase 2, funded by ESRC, BEIS, Innovate UK, British Business Bank (Co-investigator; joint with S. Roper (Principal investigator) and E. Vanino, 12/2016 - 05/2017; Warwick and Aston Business Schools) [£ 6,000] 

• Anglo-German Foundation: ‘The Determinants of Investment in Industrial Research and Development in the United Kingdom and in Germany’ Co-Applicant and Co-Investigator. Grant held jointly at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London, and the German Institute for Economic Research, Berlin. 2003-2007. (Executive Summary)

• German Research Foundation (DFG): ‘The Determinants and Effects of Innovation in a Long Firm Panel in Germany’. Named Co-Investigator. Grant held at the Ifo-Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich. 2006

• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC): ‘Fluctuations and Long-Term Prosperity: A Study of the UK and International Economies’. Co-Investigator on the project part on the determinants of R&D investment in the UK. Grant held at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London. 2001-2004

• German Research Foundation (DFG): ‘Direct and Indirect Rent Seeking within the European Anti-Dumping Rules’. Co-Investigator. Grant held at the University of Cologne. 1999-2001

• ‘Discrete Choice Modelling’, financial support from ESRC Higher Education Fund (Research methods course, IFS London, 2008)

• ‘The Econometrics of Highly Frequent Financial Time Series’, financial support from ESRC Researcher Development Initiative (Master class, IFS London, 2008)

• ‘Panel Time Series’, IFS London, 2007, financial support from ESRC Higher Education Fund (Research methods course, IFS London, 2007)

• ‘International Economics’, financial support from the Royal Economic Society (Easter School, 2007)

• ‘The Sources of European Economic Growth’, financial support from the European Economic Association (Summer School, Barcelona, 2001)

• Member of international panel of experts for the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation of the Flemish government, Belgium; for the evaluation of the Policy Research Centre Economy and Entrepreneurship (consisting of entities of the universities KU Leuven and UGhent). November 2019, Brussels
• Academic advisor to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on how to maximise the impact of R&D investment, to inform UKRI work on the UK government’s 2.4% R&D target policy. Edinburgh, March 2019.
• Academic advisor to The Behavioural Insights Team, London, October 2017, for evidence report on how to increase innovation
• ESRC Evidence Briefing – Highlighting research findings and their relevance in key policy areas, February 2015, 'Public support for business R&D'

I teach modules in Economics of Innovation and Business Venturing. I also have extensive experience in teaching a range of modules in economics and in quantitative research methods and econometrics. 

I enjoy using innovative methods to develop students' independent learning and analytical skills. Through my teaching I seek to equip my students with applied specialist knowledge relevant to real life, which they will need to succeed in today’s rapidly changing economic and business environment. 

Teaching Leadership

I was Programme Director of the MSc Entrepreneurship and International Business from 01/2014-12/2016. Results from the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) support my inclusive approach to academic leadership. I was also instrumental in sharpening the focus of this programme and transforming it to the current MSc Entrepreneurship.

I have served on the judging panel of Aston's Student Enterprise Competition and for the Queen's Entrepreneurs' Competition in Canada (QEC).

'Assessing the business performance effects of receiving publicly-funded science, research and innovation grants' (with E. Vanino and S. Roper), covered in BBC News online, UKRI, business advice, the government's website; The Times newspaper (September 2017)

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Academy of Management
• European Regional Science Association

• PhD in Economics, Birkbeck College, University of London, 10/2002-05/2006
• MSc in Economics, London School of Economics, 1999
• Diplom (MA equivalent) in Economics, University of Bonn (incl. one year at the University of Cambridge), 1998

• Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Aston Business School
• Lecturer in Economics, Loughborough University
• Researcher, Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich
• Senior Research Officer, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London
• Research Officer, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London
• Research Officer, University of Cologne

Phone: +44 (0)121 204 3339
Email: b.becker@aston.ac.uk  
Room: SW1019