Maximilian Benner is an economist and economic geographer. As senior scientist at the University of Vienna, he focuses on innovation-based regional development and their impacts in terms of sustainability and inclusiveness, particularly within the context of EU policies (e.g., cohesion policy, smart specialization, partnerships for regional innovation). His research interests include institutional and evolutionary economic geography as well as the geography of sustainability transitions, and specifically the interplay between agency, institutional context, and policy processes.

• Regional innovation policy and European policy frameworks (e.g., cohesion policy, smart specialization, partnerships for regional innovation)
• Institutional and evolutionary economic geography
• Geography of sustainability transitions