Professor Philipp Barteska grew up in a small industrial town in Germany and brings to HKU Business School a distinctive blend of global academic training and real‑world insight. He earned his PhD from the London School of Economics, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he refined his research direction and engaged closely with the professional community.

Professor Barteska’s research interests lie in development economics, political economy and organisational economics. At the heart of his work is a key question: why do some states succeed in promoting economic development while others struggle? A central theme of his work is bureaucratic effectiveness, which highlights that who implements a policy can matter just as much as the policy itself. His ongoing projects include a large field experiment in Ethiopia on improving bureaucratic performance measurement, as well as research into the geopolitical forces that help create the conditions for successful industrial policy.

Professor Barteska’s classroom philosophy is simple — learn by doing. He encourages students to step outside their comfort zones, learn from setbacks, and stay away from shortcuts, particularly in the age of AI. Outside his academic pursuits, he is a hiker and dragon boat enthusiast who enjoys Hong Kong’s outdoor culture. Since making the city his home in 2025, he has kept a playful connection to his hometown: a Grohe faucet made by one of the industrial firms he grew up around.