In Memoriam Dik Wolfson*
We recently received the sorrowful news of the death of our emeritus Professor Dik Wolfson.
Dik Wolfson's death ended the life of an inspiring, broadly educated economist endowed with an outstanding pen. Dik Wolfson's contributions were characterised by explicit language, regularly with a light touch. The same applied to his lectures and speeches. Dik was also never shy of appropriate anecdotes, which he miraculously hardly repeated.
Dik was born on 22 June 1933 in Voorburg, the son of a pastor. Soon, the family moved to Westerlee in Groningen and, shortly after the war, to Ede and then Tiel. After high school and military service, he chose to study economics at the economics faculty of the University of Amsterdam in 1955. Together with Arnold Heertje and others, he attended lectures by welfare economist Pieter Hennipman there. The latter emphasised that economic policy should not be based on monetary costs and benefits alone but should include all factors relevant to economic subjects. Dik Wolfson was also a student assistant to Hennipman.
His first job was at the International Monetary Fund, first in Washington, from 1968 to 1970 as IMF permanent representative in Monrovia, Liberia. As a young economist interested in policy, Dik experienced this eminently happy period - he returned to it regularly later. In 1970, he returned to the Netherlands, getting an appointment at the Ministry of Finance, first as deputy director of Domestic Monetary Management and from 1973 as director of General, Financial and Economic Policy (AFEP). In this capacity, he was involved in Minister Duisenberg's one-percent operation. Dik could vividly tell how he and other finance staff were summoned to Friesland, where Duisenberg was on a sailing holiday. The memo had to go out quickly; the holiday was postponed.
In 1975, he became a Professor of Public Finance at the Faculty of Economics of Erasmus University Rotterdam. His inaugural lecture of 3 February 1977 dealt with concepts and criteria for acceptable income distribution. In 1986, he became Rector of the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague - a fitting continuation of his career, given his experience at the IMF. Unfortunately, he had to give up this position as early as 1990 due to increasing deafness. He then became a councillor at the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). In this capacity, he focused mainly on social security and the welfare state. This resulted in reports such as Belang en beleid and Van verdelen naar verdienen, which advocated a more activating approach. In that context, Dik coined the new term 'transactional state'. In a transaction state, the rights and duties of citizens and government are better distinguished. In that relationship, reciprocity, bonding and accountability are essential elements.
Dik Wolfson could also play a more significant role in political issues as a policy-oriented scientist in this phase. When the WAO was reformed around 1991, he provided the government and within it, especially Finance Minister Wim Kok, with important advice. Dik did the same in his role as a Crown member of the SER. Furthermore, he contributed to many committees, from the Banking Council of the Dutch Central Bank to the Economic Impact Assessment. His opinions - always conceptually thorough - were highly valued inside and outside politics. In line with this, he was a member of the Senate for the Dutch Labour Party from 1999 to 2003, with a special focus on Finance and Social Affairs and Employment. In 1993, he returned to Erasmus University, this time as a part-time professor of economics at the Faculty of Social Sciences, where he retired in 1998.
Dik Wolfson was active on many fronts in the Dutch Labour Party; he was a member of the Royal Society for Government Economics and the KNAW. He received several royal decorations, namely Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion, and Commandeur in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau. Dik liked to walk and enjoyed chamber music and drama. In recent years, his health unfortunately deteriorated - a development he resisted for a long time but which he, too, could not stop.
With the death of Dik Wolfson, an eminent policy economist, conscientious advisor and unforgettable interlocutor, has passed away. We wish his wife, children, and family much strength.
Erasmus School of Economics
Patrick Groenen, Dean
Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Semiha Denktaş, Dean ai.
*With thanks for the IM: Cock Hazeu, Henk Klaassen, Kees van Paridon
