Alumna Jonneke Bolhaar appointed Professor of Economic Policy, Human Capital and Labour
As of 1 July 2023, TI alumna Jonneke Bolhaar has been appointed as parttime (0.2 fte) Professor of Economic Policy, Human Capital and Labour at the Erasmus School of Economics. Bolhaar combines this position with her senior position as Head of Department Labour, Education and Innovation at CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
Jonneke Bolhaar is confident that education and research at Erasmus School of Economics can profit from her knowledge on current and upcoming policy discussions and her connections: "Students have their backpack full of theoretical knowledge and econometrical skills, but still have to learn how you can combine all this knowledge to formulate a research question that has relevance for society, explain what an economist’ perspective can possibly contribute to this question and think of empirical strategies to investigate it. As a professor of practice, I want to stimulate students to start working on this skill."
In her research Jonneke Bolhaar focuses on inequality and the role of policy in alleviating, or -unintendedly- enhancing inequality: "For long, the mostly American literature on inequality of opportunity was thought of to be not that relevant for the Netherlands. But the past years it has become clear that also in the Netherlands there is inequality of opportunity, and that it may have substantial effects on outcomes."
Bolhaar also wants to contribute to (the valorisation of) the work of other researchers at Erasmus School of Economics: ‘My goal is to bring research from staff members under the attention of policy makers and establish connections between researchers at Erasmus School of Economics and CPB, who are working on the same topic.’
After a research master at Tinbergen Institute, Jonneke Bolhaar obtained her PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She has recent publications in top economics peer reviewed journals such as AEJ: Applied Economics and Journal of Public Economics.
Bolhaar is also a very strong and influential policy advisor, as exemplified by her fast-paced career at the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis since 2014. In 2020 she was promoted to Head of Department Labour, Education and Innovation and in this capacity, she is a member of the CPB’s Management Team.
Read full news item on the website of the Erasmus School of Economics.