Benjamin Steuer

Political Economist / The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
Benjamin Steuer is an assistant professor with the Division of Environment and Sustainability at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology since 2019. He obtained his PhD from the University of Vienna in 2018 with a thesis on China’s Circular Economy.
During his PhD studies, Benjamin was working as a research assistant for the Institute of Waste Management at BOKU University Vienna (2012-2017). There, he assisted in research projects (e-waste, ship recycling, fluorescent lamps) and co-developed projects (household waste, informal recycling sector) on China’s waste management and circular economy. Since his employment in Hong Kong, Benjamin has been extensively working on circular business models around single-use plastics and consumer electronics, informal waste collectors and the effectiveness of circular economic policies.
His research adopts a mixed methods approach and combines evolutionary institutional economics, waste management concepts and circular economic frameworks in an interdisciplinary manner. Benjamin’s research interests centre on circular economic practices of material and product substitution, sharing, reduction, refurbishment and remanufacturing as well as recycling across various sectors of the economy. With the greater picture of social tipping points and system transition in mind, his work centres on gathering empirical data through field research and explain quantitative outcomes on the basis of qualitative patterns. Apart from his academic engagement, Benjamin has conducted research consultancies for the German development agency GIZ, IFP Energies Nouvelles, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Hong Kong and the NPO Drink Without Waste Hong Kong