Jakob Pegels is a PhD candidate and researcher at Freie Universität's Otto-Suhr-Institute of Political Science as part of the ReSpend-project. He graduated from the Hertie School with a Master of Public Policy and holds a BA in Philosophy and Economics from Bayreuth University. Jakob's research interests include state interventions in markets as well as equity within the EU. Before joining the project, Jakob was a trainee at the EU's Directorate General for Budget. He also worked on EU enlargement and blended finance as a research assistant at Sciences Po Paris. His professional experience furthermore includes internships at KfW Group, the International Labour Organization and a strategic communication consultancy in Berlin.