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.

Dimiter Toshkov, Olaf van Vliet, Alexandre Afonso and Zouheir El-Sahli from the Institute of Public Administration (FGGA) and the Department of Economics (Faculty of Law) have been commissioned to carry out research for the European Asylum Support Office.

The Jan Brouwer thesis award for social sciences 2015 was awarded last April 14th to Master graduate in Public Administration Raffael Hanschmann for his thesis “The impact of the economic crisis on EU environmental policy making. Insights from discourse network analysis”.

The EU is struggling with labour shortages. Migrant workers and asylum seekers would be able to fill this gap and solve many of these problems. But, says economics professor Olaf van Vliet, the pros and cons regarding this dilemma need to be explicitly addressed. 'Now the message in campaigns focusses…

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…

Front-of-pack nutrition labelling, origin labelling, regulation of voluntary green claims made by food business operators: the EU is currently looking into various reforms of the legal framework for food information to consumers. The goal: healthier and more sustainable diets.

Darinka Piqani and Moritz Jesse, both from the Europa Institute Leiden, were invited as speakers at the Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights, established at the Faculty of Law of Charles University, Prague.

Hugo de Jonge, currently Minister of Housing, has chosen to appear before the Dutch House of Representatives to talk about his time as ‘Covid Minister’. This sets a dangerous precedent according to Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law at Leiden University. However, under Dutch constitutional…

Mooc Eu Policy Europe Europa

Dr Moritz Jesse (Associate Professor at the Department of European Law) was invited to present a lecture on the role of migration on peace and stability in post-war Europe at a masterclass for students and staff at the Catholic University of Lille, France. The talk, which bore the title ‘People’s mobility…

On the 15th of June, 2017, Professor Ton Liefaard gave a key note address at the occasion of the conference International Conference for Children's Rights. A Rights-based Approach to Child Welfare in Taipei, Taiwan.

The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in the Netherlands is being flooded with applications for information under the Dutch Public Access to Government Information Act (WOB) and according to Minister Hugo de Jonge is unable to provide the information on time. News programme Nieuwsuur has been waiting…

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

On 28 September 2022, ZonMW commissioned a consortium made up of the Erasmus University/Erasmus MC, Leiden University/LUMC, and research agency Pro Facto from Groningen to carry out the fourth evaluation of the Dutch Medical Research (Human Subjects) Act (WMO) and the Central Committee on Research Involving…

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…

A hidden disability can make studying a considerable challenge, partly because of the disability itself, but also because others may not realise that extra support is justified. To overcome this problem, the Faculty of Humanities is introducing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

Labour market reintegration: what is working and what could be done better? These questions were at the centre of Dutch BNR Nieuwsradio's podcast ‘Werkverkenners’. The podcast makers interviewed Anke Ramakers, Assistant Professor of Criminology at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, for answers…

Employees are now in a better position to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment. This is mainly visible in wage increases and fringe benefits. Olaf van Vliet, Professor of Economics at Leiden University, spoke to NU.nl about workers' improved negotiating position.

Playing a game, picking a cutting for your room or just having a cup of coffee: it is all possible in the new Humanities Living Room in the Matthias de Vrieshof. From Wednesday 17 May, staff and students will be able to meet informally and socialise here.

The compulsory reading list is infamous among secondary school students, and for all the wrong reasons. This prompted the Faculty of Humanities and the Onderwijsnetwerk Zuid-Holland (South Holland Education Network) to launch the Alternative Reading List Award, in search of books that motivate young…

How can we tell whether and how a prehistoric weapon was used? How can we better understand the dexterity and combat skills involved in Bronze Age spear fighting? A research team from Leiden and Göttingen University present a new approach to answering these questions: they simulated the actual fight…

Research on quantum computers and Islamic charities: two Leiden researchers have received a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council.

Conference

Less meat and dairy means more space for nature, leisure, climate, biodiversity, more justice, and it's good news for the economy. That's according to the thought experiment conducted by Strootman Landscape Architects and Leiden environmental scientists. They presented their findings on 11 April.

The Master's Day on 4 November was very busy. Prospective students visited the many presentations and bombarded the guides with their questions.

Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems continue to decline in Europe, which has serious consequences for human welfare. These are findings of a report that was formally approved by delegates from 127 governments during a UN plenary in Medellin, Colombia. Leiden researcher Alexander van Oudenhoven was one…

The research profile area Interaction between Legal Systems has a multidisciplinary approach and aims to inspire innovative research. Out of all the proposals put forward, three winning projects have been selected for the forthcoming research period 2016-2020.

Nine talented Leiden researchers have been awarded a Vidi subsidy by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Vidis are intended for researchers with several years of research experience who want to set up or expand their own line of research.

The Rutte-III coalition agreement has been presented and the commentary is flooding in. Public administration experts Arco Timmermans and Gerard Breeman examined the new agreement – as they have done for every coalition agreement since 1963 - and made a systematic analysis of it: it is very much about…

It is one of the most famous moments in Dutch TV history: the twenty-three hour long marathon broadcast of Open het Dorp. But what happened to the commune for people with disabilities after that? Monika Baár and Paul van Trigt received a NWO grant of 750,000 euros to map the development of Het Dorp.

In March, the Honours Academy will be launching two new Master Honours Classes. In these classes, students with a curious mind will have the opportunity to do research into the relationship between humans and nature or to work on an innovation for the healthcare sector. ‘This will allow students from…

Debate

I am a Lecturer in Contemporary Military History and Security Studies, teaching in both the History and International Relations programmes here at Leiden. I grew up in Yorkshire, England and was interested in history and international politics from a young age. In 2003 I went to the University of Cambridge…

The war between Ukraine and Russia is playing out not just on the battlefield but also on the geopolitical playing field of gas. Conflicts at the start of this century about this energy source were, says PhD candidate Ilia Barboutev, a precursor to today’s war.

To what extent did the Netherlands grow rich from the Transatlantic slave trade? In his dissertation 'Walcherse Ketens', Gerhard de Kok looks at Vlissingen and Middelburg, the most important slave trade cities in the Netherlands during the second half of the 18th century. It turns out that, although…

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…

Today, the Dutch Advisory Board on public access and government information (ACOI) issued its opinion on how the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) makes documents on Covid policy accessible to the public.

Last Thursday, the March edition of the ILS Lunch Seminars took place. This well attended seminar took on a slightly different format, as we had the honour of receiving Prof. Vassilis Hatzopoulos from the Panteion University in Athens who presented his latest monograph on the collaborative economy.

The heavy storm on Thursday 18 January did not prevent EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger from visiting the Hague. In addition to a visit to Prime Minister Rutte, the Dutch parliament and the Dutch Minister for Finance Hoekstra, he also visited Leiden University in The Hague. There he gave a Masterclass…

We use zebrafish as a model organism to study human development and disease as well as animal welfare and environmental impact.

The Council of Ministers has appointed Jan Willem Erisman, Professor of Environment and Sustainability at Leiden University, as chair of the new Scientific Climate Council (WKR) from 1 March. This council will advise the government on climate policy.

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 20 October 2016, a highly successful 2nd CML Rev Annual Conference took place, in Oslo. This was organized in cooperation with the Oslo Centre for European Law. The title was: Crossing Europe’s Borders: New approaches to migration in European law.

On Wednesday 24 August 2016, Leiden University and UNICEF in the Netherlands extended their successful cooperation for another five years. During this period they will work together on an international centre for expertise on children’s rights supported by the UNICEF Chair in Children’s Rights.

The 7th Pan-European Conference on the European Union hosted from 5 until 7 June 2014 by the Campus The Hague was a success.

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.

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…

All master’s students in Political Science conclude their studies with a thesis, showcasing their academic skills and personal interest. For some, it is the ‘last hurdle’; others see their thesis as a first step in their development as scientists. To acknowledge the importance of the thesis and to stimulate…

The Oncode Institute is a new international network organisation that focuses on making sure that new scientific findings on cancer are implemented in patients as rapidly as possible. Two young female researchers at Leiden University have been selected to join Oncode: Laura Heiman (Leiden Academic…

Migration and diversity are key factors in one of the most fundamental transformations of society today. Students study this phenomenon in the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus master’s specialisation in Governance of Migration and Diversity.