Why was fracking's acceptance different in coal-driven Germany and nuclear-powered France, despite their commitments to transition to renewables? We conducted a mixed-methods study using data from both countries (2010-2015) to explore how the institutional context influences public views on the legitimacy of shale gas extraction as an energy source.

Accurate medical diagnoses are crucial for a healthy and productive society. Nevertheless, doctors may sometimes underdiagnose patients by overlooking symptoms. Alternatively, they can overdiagnose by identifying diseases that would not have resulted in harm if undetected. This project aims to study the consequences of overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis on patient health and productivity.

Price cuts and promotions may not always align with the encouragement of healthier food choices. We aim to document how promotion behavior is related to the nutritional value of products. In addition, we will estimate how the price and promotion effectiveness is impacted by the nutritional value of the products.

The world is witnessing an increase of autocratic leaders in powerful positions. Such leaders restrict citizen freedoms and inhibit collective efforts to combat global challenges such as climate change through their own isolationist policies. In our project we aim to understand and consequently reduce the allure of autocracy.

I am writing a popular book “Analytics for a Better World” together with Prof. Dimitris Bertsimas (MIT). The topic of the book is to illustrate how Analytics can be and has been used to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. In our book we discuss several real-life cases.

Road vehicles are one of the largest contributors to air pollution in Europe. A popular policy to limit vehicle pollution in dense urban areas are Low Emission Zones. In this project, we take a holistic approach and study the direct and distributional impacts of low emission zones in the Netherlands.

Imagine you could learn about the large environmental impact of a choice you just made, would you? Research found that people avoid learning information if it causes psychological discomfort, in this project we explore how sharing the burden of this discomfort, helps us to reduce avoiding burdensome information. 

I combine experimental and field data to study gender differences in persistence and the mechanisms driving this novel phenomenon. This project aims to improve our understanding of the behavioral channels and beliefs that contribute to the underrepresentation of women in many stratified professions.

In this project, we want to investigate the relationship between resource inequality and intergroup cooperation. Current research on the effect of economic inequality on cooperation has mostly focussed on individual cooperation behaviour. However, to tackle big current collective issues – climate, poverty, debt-crisis – looking at intergroup cooperation is of utmost importance.

While individuals often express a desire to behave morally, they frequently struggle to follow through with their intentions. In this project, our aim is to delve into the complexities of intentional and unintentional deviations from one's moral compass. Additionally, we will develop interventions that effectively mitigate these two biases.

This study examines how `green’ incentives, such as subsidies and fines, affect firms' intrinsic motivation. Through a laboratory experiment, we explore the interaction between these incentives and competition, aiming to gain insights into the crowding-out effect in competitive markets.

The number of migrants and house prices in the Netherlands have been increasing in the last decade. We want to analyse how the inflow of migrants, specifically high-income earners, affects house prices and amenities in neighborhoods across the Netherlands. We will use detailed administrative data from CBS.

I study how financial frictions affect the pace of the green transition. Stranded asset risk may lead to debt overhang in firms with poor environmental performance, hindering investment in green initiatives. I propose an optimal financing contract based on public-private partnerships to address challenges to debt renegotiation in this context.

The difference in the share of men and women who work parttime is largest in the Netherlands. Little is known about the determinants of this differential. The goal of this project is to understand how historical events shaped gender inequality in labor market outcomes in the Netherlands as observed today.