For the transition to a green economy, it is essential not only to put a price on CO₂ emissions but also for governments to address market distortions, such as policy uncertainty that hinders investments in the energy transition. This is evident from research conducted by Sacha den Nijs, who worked as a guest researcher at PBL (Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency) during her PhD journey.
Den Nijs also found that the economic impacts of this transition differ by region due to historically rooted regional differences in economic activity and in the availability of renewable versus traditional energy sources. The effects on regional economies are influenced, for example, by how the energy transition is financed and the current state of the economy, according to a comparison of models.
Several PBL publications by Den Nijs were part of her PhD research, including studies on the sensitivity of regional competitiveness to fossil fuel price shocks and the models used to examine the impact of green investments on the regional distribution of economic activity (in Dutch).
Den Nijs obtained her PhD on May 7, 2025, at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, under the supervision of (co-)promotors Gerard van der Meijden, Henri de Groot, and Mark Thissen. The title of her dissertation is “Investing in a Green Economics – Firm Perspectives and Spatial Economic Impications”.
This is a translated re-post from PBL