The Executive Board has appointed Olaf van Vliet as Professor of Economics at Leiden University, specialising in social security and labour market policy from an international perspective. The chair is affiliated to both the Department of Economics (Leiden Law School) and the Institute of Public Administration…

Olaf van Vliet behoort tot de vier hoogleraren gespecialiseerd in migratie die worden benoemd tot Leiden-Delft-Erasmus-hoogleraar.

In order to attract and retain new talent, employers in the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam are increasing their support offered to parents and expectant parents. This includes funding sleep coaches, babysitters and fertility programmes for their staff. Professor of Economics Olaf van Vliet explains…

What would happen if there were fewer migrant workers in the Netherlands? Olaf van Vliet, Professor of Economics, discussed this question on Dutch news site NU.nl.

As of 1 June 2018 Olaf van Vliet has been appointed as Professor of Comparative Welfare State Analysis at Leiden University. The Endowed Chair in Comparative Welfare State Analysis is supported by Instituut Gak. This chair is embedded in both the Department of Economics (Leiden Law School) and the Institute…

In Dutch the public arena, there’s talk of curbing labour migration. Which options do the Dutch have? Olaf van Vliet, Professor of Economics at Leiden University, discusses this issue in Dutch daily newspaper NRC.

On Wednesday 11 June 2025 Steffie van Gompel successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Economists are warning for a contraction of the economy during the second half of this year. The United States are already facing a ‘technical recession’: two successive quarters of economic contraction. A recession can lead to a freeze in recruitment and even redundancies. Will employers take precautionary…

Due to the tightness of the labour market, staff shortages are on the rise in many sectors. One solution often mentioned in the policy debate is that people should work more hours per week; the part-time factor should increase. Another possibility mentioned these days in the United States, is to increase…

Technological developments never stop. Machines can already perform many tasks and in the future they will probably take over even more of the work we do. Which jobs could disappear and which will remain in the future? Olaf van Vliet, Professor of Economics at Leiden Law School, commented on these issues…

Due to technological change, jobs and professions are constantly changing. For instance, it has long been known that some jobs are becoming redundant due to automation. Digitalisation and the rise of artificial intelligence are more recent developments that affect the labour market.

Employers are calling on rules to be relaxed on labour migrants from outside the EU as a way of attracting more labour migrants to solve staff shortages. Professor of Economics Olaf van Vliet explains on Dutch radio new programme BNR Nieuwsradio that there are various options to reduce staff shortag…

All of society is having to deal with the effects of staff shortages. Hospitals are unable to fill their duty rosters, primary schools are having to close their doors for one day per week, and trains are being cancelled on a regular basis. But why is that exactly? Professor of Economics Olaf van Vliet…

Olaf van Vliet is Extraordinary Professor of Comparative Welfare State Analysis at the Economics department and the Institute of Public Administration at Leiden University. ‘From an electoral point of view, it is much more interesting to do things for people aged 66 and upward than it is for people…

The number of self-employed people has risen over the past few years. Professor of Economics Olaf van Vliet explains this development in Dutch online newspaper NU.nl.

The Netherlands cannot stop European labour migrants coming here. Nor does The Hague have much influence on the influx of asylum seekers. But experts believe that we should be able to reduce the need for labour migrants by using intelligent economic policies.

The Dutch Government recently announced measures to limit the loss of purchasing power. These include, for example, raising the minimum wage and healthcare benefits. Another way for households to maintain purchasing power is to work more. Olaf van Vliet, Professor of Economics, explains the effects…

Researchers from the Department of Economics and the Institute of Public Administration – Olaf van Vliet and Lars van Doorn – have been awarded a grant of 430,000 euros from Instituut Gak to analyse the flexibilisation of the labour market and its implications for social policy.

EU migrants receive less frequent and lower benefits and allowances than Dutch citizens. This is according to research by Leiden economists Olaf van Vliet and Eduard Suari Andreu published as part of the Social Citizenship & Migration research programme. The research is discussed in Dutch newspaper…

What would happen if families with little money were to receive an extra amount every month with no conditions attached? Would it help with their worst financial problems? In order to find out, the municipality of Amsterdam will conduct an experiment with 300 families over the next two years. During…

The European Commission sees increased labour migration as a solution to the growing personnel shortages, but the Dutch Labour Inspectorate argues that this is not a tenable business model. Professor of Economics Olaf van Vliet discusses the advantages and disadvantages of labour migration for the economy…

On Wednesday 3 July 2024 Renata Schiavo successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

On Wednesday 23 October 2024 Judith Jurjens successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

On Tuesday 30 April 2024 Jonny Russell successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Kyra van der Moezel defended her thesis on 7 September 2016.

Dutch companies are cutting jobs at a rapid pace amid reorganisations. Olaf van Vliet, Professor of Economics, spoke with NU.nl about the causes of this wave of layoffs: 'Other factors besides AI seems to be at play.'