Dr Rico Merkert

Dr Rico Merkert graduated in Business Administration from Berlin University of Technology in 2002. Whilst being a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) at the University of Leeds he undertook and received a PhD in transport economics.

Rico has taught at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, the University of Potsdam and also the Leeds University Business School, where he was an Associate Lecturer before joining Cranfield University as a Lecturer in Air Transport Economics in September 2009.

He has been involved in a number of projects on transport economics, policy and management (including strategy, organisation and finance, M&A) for a range of clients such as the European Commission and a number of airlines. Rico has worked in the automotive industry, and has researched both the aviation and the rail transport sector for more than 8 years (including short research fellowships in the USA and Sweden).

Most of his recent projects involved productivity and cost efficiency analysis of airlines and airports. Since his research visits to the University of Sydney in 2010 and 2011 he focuses on applying efficiency analysis, transaction cost economics and choice modelling to public transport, particularly regional air transport in Australia and Europe.