Michael Schwan

Michael Schwan is a DAAD/AGI Research Fellow from October to December 2021.

Dr. Schwan is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cologne in Germany where he is part of the Cologne Center for Comparative Politics (CCCP). He studied Political Science, Sociology, Economic,s and Economic Geography in Marburg, Lucerne, and Cologne and holds a PhD from the University of Cologne’s Faculty of Management, Economics, and Social Sciences. He spent time in the United States during a research stay at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. As a political economist he is devoted to deciphering socioeconomic foundations and ramifications of financial markets, corporate governance structures, and national growth models. Some of his previous projects have dealt with sovereign debt management, public banking, and regional effects of financial market integration in Europe. Currently, he is working on new forms of institutional ownership, corporate networks, and political-economic reactions to COVID-19.

At AGI, Dr. Schwan will continue his work on a collaborative project with Prof. Mark Cassell (Kent State) and Prof. Marc Schneiberg (Reed), investigating the role of the U.S. banking system in disbursing economic relief loans as part of the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program. The research analyzes the effects of different lender types, bank ecologies, and political factors on the provision of credit to communities of different demographics. The project addresses important issues on the inclusivity of economic policy-making and local economic development in times of crisis.

The DAAD/AGI Research Fellowship is supported by the DAAD with funds from the Federal Foreign Office.