Dr Aidt's research areas are Public Choice and Political Economics. His work focuses on four main themes: The causes and consequences of democratization; development and corruption; political business cycles; and the political economy of environmental policy.

Dr Aidt has a Ph.D. from the University of Aarhus (1998). He is Editor of the European Journal of Political Economy; on the editorial board of Public Choice and Constitutional Political Economy; awarded the Wicksell Prize (1999) by the European Public Choice Society and the Pilkington Prize (2007) for excellence in teaching by the University of Cambridge. Past-president of the European Public Choice Society (2013-15) and a current member of the Syndicate of the Cambridge University Press. Director of Studies in Economics at Jesus College since 1998.