I am an economist by training, and I work part-time as Associate Professor at the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development of Utrecht University, next to my job as Senior Researcher at TNO Energy Transition Studies.

I conduct applied empirical economic research into the distribution of costs and benefits of the energy transition, using a broad welfare perspective. To this aim I combine insights from macroeconomics, energy economics and spatial economics. I am fascinated by the phenomenon of technology diffusion - which is often at least as costly, lengthy and difficult as technological innovation.

Current research topics include energy poverty, transport poverty, income- and employment effects of the energy transition, and indicators for measuring energy inequality.  Part of this work is done in close collaboration with CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, VU Amsterdam and the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) at Maastricht University.  

Apart from the economics of the energy transition, I am interested in research on energy use and urbanization, cities and the spatial structure of economic development, spatial inequality, and the role of institutions and governance in economic development.

My work on energy and transport poverty is frequently quoted in the media, and I am often involved in policy advice at the national and local level.