Jasper Simons is Assistant Professor European Governance at the Utrecht University School of Governance. His research focuses on political economy and European integration, often with a particular emphasis on Central and Eastern Europe. Jasper is interested in questions related to the politics of policymaking (especially industrial policy), economic development, EU affairs, and institutional change. He approaches these issues for example in the study of peripheral capitalism or European (socio)economic convergence. At USG he is the main coordinator of the master European Governance. 

In 2021, Jasper earned his PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Following his doctorate, he held positions as a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, Germany, and as a lecturer in the European Studies program at the University of Amsterdam. Jasper previously studied political science with a focus on international relations and comparative political economy at the University of Amsterdam, McGill University (Montreal, Canada), and Leiden University. Before beginning his PhD, he gained professional experience as a trainee at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), as a political science lecturer in Leiden, and in the consultancy sector. 

His academic work has been published in journals as East European Politics, Journal of Common Market Studies, Journal of European Public Policy, New Political Economy, Review of International Political Economy, and Socio-Economic Review. Jasper has also published in outlets such as De Democraat, het Financieele Dagblad, LSE European Politics, het Parool, and Socialisme & Democratie.