Michael Bechtel is Associate Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St.Louis and Research Fellow at the Swiss Institute for International Economics and Applied Economic Research. His research explores how countries can design policies to address long-term economic and environmental risk. Current projects examine mass support for global climate cooperation, the politics of natural disasters, and policy responses to economic crises. Much of his scholarly work uses original survey data, experimental designs, and causal inference techniques to study solutions to policy problems. His articles have been published in American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and elsewhere. He has authored and co-authored two books on the politics of financial markets and received research grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Network for International Studies, and the German National Merit Foundation. He serves as an external consultant and expert witness in legal proceedings that require expertise in survey research and quantitative analyses.

Bechtel holds a BA in Political Science, Economics, Law, and Philosophy (2003), an MA in Political Science, Economics, and Public Law (2005), a Ph.D. in Political Science (2008), and a Habilitation in Political Science (2012). Prior to his academic career, he served in an infantry battalion of the German Army.

Due to the current pandemic, WashU faculty is now working remotely. You can reach me in my virtual office at https://wustl.zoom.us/my/mbechtel

Now available: Social Norms Survey Instruments
These files contain word and qualtrics versions (including Java script) of survey modules to elicit reciprocity, altruism, and inequality aversion in mass surveys:

washu washu