• Jozef Ritzen (1945), a Dutch national, trained as a physics engineer (Delft University of Technology) and an economist (Erasmus University Rotterdam, PhD, cum laude). 

• Held professorial appointments with universities in the Netherlands and the US. 

• Minister of Education, Culture, and Science of the Netherlands from 1989 to 1998, one of the longest-serving Ministers of Education in the world.

• Subsequently served as Vice President of the World Bank's Human Development Network and as President of Maastricht University, working also with UNESCO, UNDP and OECD. 

• Serving on the International Advisory Boards of the Universities of KAU (Saudi Arabia), Prague (Charles University, Czech Republic), Siegen (Germany) and Bled (Slovenia).

• Written or co-authored twelve books and many articles (often co-authored) in the fields of education, economics, public finance, social cohesion and development economics. Latest book (2017): A Second Chance for Europe (Springer). 

• Main project 2020-2024: Governing globalized competition for survival of the planet.

• Honorary professor of Maastricht University and UNU/Merit, in the International Economics of Science, Technology and Higher Education.
   

Areas of Expertise

• Works in Dutch, English, and German. 

• Economics of Education.

• Institutional Analysis and Productivity Analysis.

• Economic Development and Economic Policy Analysis.

• Applied Econometrics and Applied Economics.

• Growth Economics and Development Studies.

• Applied Macroeconomics and Regional Economics.

• Foreign Direct Investment.

• Government Regulation and Public Policy Analysis.

• International Agencies and Development Cooperation.

• Production Economics and Economic Growth.