Erasmus School of Economics obtains two Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are part of the prestigious EU Horizon2020 grant scheme to encourage the mobility of researchers across (inter)national borders. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are allocated into different types of fellowships. For the Individual Fellowship an amount is awarded of 175.000 euros for a two-year research project to be fully executed at Erasmus University Rotterdam. The Global Fellowship accumulates to an amount of 211.000 euros for a two-and-a-half-year research project that will partially be executed at an international university other than Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Patrick Groenen, Dean of Erasmus School of Economics, is clearly delighted: ‘The awarding of a Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship is a great opportunity for both Renske and Matthijs. It strongly contributes to accomplishing the ambition of Erasmus School of Economics and Erasmus University Rotterdam at large, to make our research more visible, more relevant for society and to create impact. I am looking forward to the conclusions of the research efforts of Renske and Matthijs. I wish them a lot of scientific joy and success.’

Adhemare de Rijk, Funding Manager Research, reacts: ‘Both Renske and Matthijs present novel research ideas that explore current problems in society. I am happy to see that their dedication during the application process has proven to be successful and their talents are recognised.’

About Renske Stans and her research project

Renske Stans is working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Economics Department of Erasmus School of Economics since September 2020. She obtained her PhD in Economics from the University of Bonn in 2020. Renske’s research interests are primarily focused on the causes and consequences of socioeconomic inequality. In addition, she has broader research interests related to labour economics, economics of education, and applied microeconomics. The aim of Renske’s research project is to explore the role of local governmental policies in shaping labour market outcomes of vulnerable groups in society. Despite the presence of overall economic growth, during the last decades many developed countries have witnessed a rise in income inequality within their societies. The widening divide makes it crucial to understand why certain groups fall behind. The project investigates an avenue that has been largely overlooked so far: whether where you live matters for determining individuals’ life outcomes.

About Matthijs Korevaar and his research project

Since last year Matthijs Korevaar is working as Assistant Professor in Finance in the Business Economics Department of Erasmus School of Economics. He obtained his PhD in Financial Economics from the University of Maastricht last month. His research interests are in finance, real estate and economic history: he exploits the long course of history to draw lessons relevant for modern financial markets, with a specific focus on the housing market. As part of his Global Fellowship Matthijs will partially be seconded to Columbia University, New York, US, where he will join the Finance Division of Columbia Business School. The aim of Matthijs’s research project is to investigate the long-term impact of shocks to housing values on the wealth of individuals and their neighbourhoods. Measuring the impact of such shocks is difficult, because differences in housing wealth and housing values are typically closely related to economic trends and the individual choices of households. Climbing the housing ladder is the most important way for households to accumulate wealth, but households differ significantly in their access to housing wealth and the housing returns they realise.