The master’s programme in Spatial, Transport, and Environmental Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has been named the best economics master’s programme in the Netherlands for 2025, according to the latest results of the National Student Survey (in Dutch abbreviated as NSE*). The programme ranks highest in nearly all evaluated categories, outshining other economics master’s programmes.…

In a society in which equality of opportunity is increasingly high on the agenda, it is striking how little attention is paid to the physical places that promote social mobility. Libraries are disappearing, youth centres are closing and schools are merging, forcing people to travel further and further to make use of essential services. According…

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…

Dutch households are generally satisfied with their homes. Recent research shows that, on average, residents give their homes a solid pass grade. Nevertheless, many people face difficulties in realizing their housing preferences, particularly due to long waiting lists for social housing and the high costs in the private rental and owner-occupied housing markets. The study,…

On Wednesday, March 19, the Housing Lab was launched during the symposium “Investeren in Volkhuisvesting” (Dutch spoken), organized by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (Centraal Planbureau). The Housing Lab is an initiative by Vrije Universiteit researchers Hans Koster and Jan Rouwendal. Bundling Research Hans Koster, Professor of Urban Economics and Real Estate at…

Erik Verhoef, professor at the department of Spatial Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, is an expert in influencing travel behaviour through price incentives. ‘We need to collaborate in both science and practice to distribute and utilize scarce space fairly and effectively.’ It is not an easy task and it requires patience, but it is possible,…

Between 2016 and 2023 temporary rental contracts were allowed in the Netherlands. The maximum duration of stay under such a contract was two years. The purpose of introducing such contracts was to improve the functioning of the housing market. What have been the effects of these contracts? That is the question that Maureen Lankhuizen and…

Why is it easier to find a job that matches your skills in a city than elsewhere? Because there are more jobs available of course, but maybe also because there are disproportionally more vacancies available per worker, which makes it easier to move from one job to another. In their paper on ‘Are urban labour markets more dynamic?…

“Our research should ultimately become obsolete,” says VU Amsterdam scientist Gerard van der Meijden. Alongside Cees Withagen and two fellow researchers, he studied carbon capture, utilisation and storage — technologies crucial for the energy transition. Which scenario leads to the optimal balance between societal benefits and losses? Gerard, an associate professor of environmental economics, begins…

In economic terms, the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam (MRA) is doing well. The rapid recovery after the COVID-19 crisis illustrated the resilience of the region. In 2021 and 2022, the economy grew by 7.5 and 6.9 percent, respectively. In 2023, growth slowed down to 1.2 percent, and in the coming years, the economy is expected…