[1] Baten received his doctorate from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich with his work about the biological standard of living in South Germany, under supervision of John Komlos.
Baten achieved prominence with his works about the long term development of human capital and living standards.
Baten drew the conclusion that early development of education in some countries caused today's differences between poor and rich, whereas world trade played a rather marginal role.
In 2020, Baten analysed, jointly with Thomas Keywood, new evidence on elite human capital formation in Europe over a time period from the 6th to the 20th century.
Their study provides evidence that the disparities in violence between Eastern and Western Europe helped shape the divergent movement via the elite numeracy mechanism and had substantial implications for the economic fortunes of each region over the following centuries.