Staff profile

Dr Bettina Becker is an Associate Professor in Strategy and Innovation at Durham University Business School. An economist with a research focus on innovation, she received her undergraduate degree (Dipl.-Volkswirtin) from the University of Bonn in Germany, including one year at Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge; her MSc degree from the London School of Economics; and her PhD from Birkbeck College at the University of London. Previous employment positions include Senior Researcher at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) in London. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Bettina’s main research interests include innovation policy, environmental innovation, open innovation, innovation strategy, and economics of innovation. She enjoys and has extensive experience in micro-econometric analysis and in summarising and disseminating the results of technical analysis to academic, policy, and industry audiences.

Output of Bettina’s work on innovation policy has been cited in several publications by policy-making and policy-advising institutions, such as the Social Market Foundation in the UK, The Hamilton Project in the US, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, the World Bank, the OECD, and the European Commission.

Bettina has served as a member of the 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. She has also been a member of a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) expert workshop to inform government policy on how to maximise the impact of R&D investment, and she has acted as an academic advisor to The Behavioural Insights Team.

Bettina’s research has been published in leading international journals, including Research Policy, Technovation, Regional Studies, Small Business Economics, and International Journal of Business Policy. Find more details about Bettina’s publications on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=NGaU8-AAAAAJ&hl=en

Bettina teaches modules on Innovation Management and on Business Economics. She enjoys using innovative methods to develop students' independent learning and analytical skills. Through her teaching, Bettina seeks to equip her students with applied specialist knowledge relevant to real life, which they will need to succeed in today’s rapidly changing economic and business environments. In all her modules, Bettina places an emphasis on imparting the appreciation of responsible and inclusive innovation and on sustainability.

In her free time, Bettina enjoys hiking, playing music, and volunteering for charity.

Mini-Biography

I am an economist with a research focus on innovation. My main research interests include innovation policy, environmental innovation, open innovation, innovation strategy, and economics of innovation. Before joining Durham University Business School, I worked as a Senior Researcher at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in London.

• Innovation policy
• Environmental innovation
• Open innovation
• Innovation strategy
• Economics of innovation

Chapter in book

• Becker, B., & Hall, S. G. (2013). Inflation convergence in Europe. In C. E. G., & K. G. M. (Eds.), European Socio-Economic Integration: Challenges, Opportunities and Lessons Learned (3-25). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5254-6

Conference Paper

• Becker, B., Roper, S., & Love, J. (2017, August). The effectiveness of regional, national and EU support for innovation in the UK and Spain. Paper presented at Academy of Management, New York

Journal Article

• Becker, B., Roper, S., & Vanino, E. (2023). Assessing innovation spillovers from publicly funded R&D and innovation support: Evidence from the UK. Technovation, 128, Article 102860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2023.102860
• Becker, B. (2023). Green innovation strategies, innovation success and firm performance – Evidence from a panel of Spanish firms. Sustainability, 15(2), Article 1656. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021656
• Roper, S., Becker, B., Love, J. H., & Bonner, K. (2022). Firms’ innovation objectives and knowledge acquisition strategies. International Journal of Innovation Management, 26(4), Article 2250025. https://doi.org/10.1142/s1363919622500256
• Becker, B., Driffield, N., Lancheros, S., & Love, J. (2020). FDI in hot labour markets: the implications of the war for talent. Journal of International Business Policy, 3, 107-133. https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-020-00052-y
• Vanino, E., Roper, S., & Becker, B. (2019). Knowledge to money: Assessing the business performance effects of publicly-funded R&D grants. Research Policy, 48(7), 1714-1737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.04.001
• Becker, B. (2019). The impact of innovation policy on firm innovation and performance: An overview of recent research developments. Ifo DICE report, 17(4), 10-15
• Vanino, E., Roper, S., & Becker, B. (2019). Knowledge to money: Assessing the business performance effects of publicly-funded R&D grants. Ifo DICE report,
• Becker, B. (2015). Public R&D policies and private R&D investment: A survey of the empirical evidence. Journal of Economic Surveys, 29(5), 917-942. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12074
• Cravo, T., Becker, B., & Gourlay, A. (2015). Regional growth and SMEs in Brazil: A spatial panel approach. Regional Studies, 49(12),
• Becker, B., & Hall, S. (2013). Do R&D strategies in high-tech sectors differ from those in low-tech sectors? – An alternative approach to testing the pooling assumption. Economic Change and Restructuring, 46, 183-202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10644-012-9122-7
• Cravo, T., Gourlay, A., & Becker, B. (2012). Small and medium-size enterprises and regional economic growth in Brazil. Small Business Economics, 38(2), 217-230
• Becker, B., & Uebelmesser, S. (2010). Health insurance competition in Germany – The role of advertising. https://doi.org/10.3790/schm.130.2.169
• Becker, B., & Hall, S. (2009). How far from the Euro Area? Measuring convergence of inflation rates in Eastern Europe. Economic Modelling, 26(4), 788-798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2009.01.016
• Becker, B., & Hall, S. (2009). Foreign direct investment in R&D and exchange rate uncertainty. Open Economies Review, 20, 207-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11079-007-9075-z
• Becker, B., & Hall, S. (2009). A new look at economic convergence in Europe: A common factor approach. International Journal of Finance and Economics, 14(1), 85-97. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.364
• Becker, B., & Hall, S. G. (2007). Measuring convergence of the new member countries’ exchange rates to the Euro. Journal of Financial Transformation, 19(2), 20-25
• Russig, V., & Becker, B. (2006). Wohnungsfertigstellungen bleiben auf hohem Niveau. ifo Schnelldienst, 59(17), 25-34
• Barrell, R., Becker, B., Byrne, J., Gottschalk, S., Hurst, I., & van Welsum, D. (2004). Macroeconomic policy in Europe: Experiments with monetary responses and fiscal impulses. Ecological Modelling, 21(5), 877-931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2003.10.005
• Holland, D., Becker, B., Gottschalk, S., & Pomerantz, O. (2004). Conflicting needs for interest rate cuts in the Euro Area. National Institute Economic Review, 187, 25-35
• Becker, B., Gottschalk, S., & Pomerantz, O. (2004). Accelerating world demand to underpin Euro Area recovery. National Institute Economic Review, 25-35
• Becker, B., Holland, D., Gottschalk, S., & Pomerantz, O. (2004). Domestic demand in the Euro Area slowly improving. National Institute Economic Review,
• Holland, D., Becker, B., Gottschalk, S., & Pomerantz, O. (2003). The world economy: Prospects for the European Union. National Institute Economic Review, 181, 25-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/002795010218100105
• Pain, N., & Becker, B. (2002). The world economy: Prospects for North America and Japan. National Institute Economic Review, 181, 15-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/002795010218100104
• Becker, B., & Theuringer, M. (2001). Macroeconomic determinants of contingent protection: The case of the European Union. Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, 50(3), 350-370. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfwp-2001-0307

Report

• Becker, B., & Schürfeld, A. Dutch Employment Policy as a Model for Germany? [Die niederländische Beschäftigungspolitik als Vorbild für Deutschland?]. Ministry of Finance, Germany
• Becker, B., Groen, A., Lorenzen, M., & Mitra, J. Evaluation of the Flemish Policy Research Centre Economy and Entrepreneurship. Report by Panel of International Experts. Flemish Government Department of Economy, Science and Innovation, Brussels, Belgium
• Vecchi, M., Barrell, R., Becker, B., Schmidt-Ehmke, J., & Stephan, A. (2007). The Determinants of Investment in Industrial Research and Development in the United Kingdom and in Germany. Anglo-German Foundation

Working Paper

• Becker, B. (2013). The determinants of R&D investment: A survey of the empirical research
• Barrell, R., Becker, B., & Gottschalk, S. (2003). Wage moderation policy in Germany