Short biography
ICREA Research Professor at Institute of Environmental Science & Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Honorary Professor of Environmental & Resource Economics in School of Economics & Business and Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam (VUA). Editor-in-chief of journal Environmental Innovation & Societal Transitions. Previously, full professor of Environmental Economics (1997-2007) at VUA. A Master degree in Econometrics & Operations Research from Tilburg University, and a PhD from VUA. His work is much cited, indicated by more than 23,000 citations in Google Scholar. He received the Royal Shell Prize 2002, IEC's (Sant Jordi) Environmental Prize 2011, an ERC Advanced Grant in 2017, and an honorary doctorate from the Netherlands’ Open University in 2019. His latest book is 'Human Evolution Beyond Biology and Culture: Evolutionary Social, Environmental and Policy Sciences' (Cambridge University Press).
Research interests
My work is on the interface of environmental economics, climate science and innovation studies. Research in recent years focuses on the design of effective and politically-feasible climate policy that accounts for undesirable systemic impacts, such as energy rebound and international carbon leakage. This involves the application of methods and insights of behavioural and evolutionary economics, operationalized through agent-based modelling. Past work covered integrated ecological-economic modelling, contributions to the growth-versus-environment debate, environmental policies applied to urban-transport issues, biodiversity valuation and policy, modelling of recycling in material-product chains, and international dimensions of environmental policy.
Current posts
ICREA research professor, ICREA (Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies), located at Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (September 2007 - ).
Honorary full professor of Environmental and Resource Economics (‘bijzonder hoogleraar’), Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, and Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam (September 2007 - ).
Senior researcher, category ‘research director/distinguished researcher’ (“director investigació/investigador distingit”), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (June 2017 - ).
Head research team “environmental and climate economics” (± 10 researchers).
Past posts
Sub-director responsible for Research, Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (March 2012 – March 2015).
Leader SGR research group “Ecological Economics” (±40 researchers), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2009 - 2017), and co-leader since 2017.
Member of the Energy Council of the Netherlands (“Algemene Energieraad”), The Hague, The Netherlands (an advisory council of the Dutch national government; 1 day per week appointment) (December 2003 - December 2007).
Full professor of ‘Nature, Space and Water’, Institute for Environmental Studies, Free University, Amsterdam (January 2002 - September 2007).
Co-ordinator of the research program ‘Labour, Region and Environment’, Tinbergen Institute Economics Research School, Amsterdam (a joint venture of the economic faculties of the Free University Amsterdam, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the University of Amsterdam) (July 2001 - July 2007).
Full professor of ‘Environmental Economics’, Faculty of Economics & Business Administration, Free University, Amsterdam (July 1997 - September 2007).
Tenured senior researcher, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Free University, Amsterdam (April 1995 - July 1997).
USF postdoc fellow, Tinbergen Institute and Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Free University, Amsterdam (April 1992 - April 1996).
Researcher (assistant professor level), Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Free University, Amsterdam (Aug. 1990 - April 1992).
PhD student, The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) (April 1988 - Dec. 1991).
Research and teaching assistantships in mathematics and operations research, Sub-faculty of Econometrics, Faculty of Economics, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands (Sept. 1985 - Jan. 1988).
Degrees
Doctorate/PhD degree: obtained on 16 December 1991, Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Free University, Amsterdam. Title dissertation: “Dynamic models for sustainable development”; supervisors: prof. dr. P. Nijkamp and prof. dr. J.B. Opschoor.
PhD/graduate courses: Network of Operations Research, Tinbergen Institute (economics), Network of Quantitative Economics (NAKE), and Dutch Network of Environmental Sciences (SENSE).
Master degree in Econometrics with a specialisation in Operations Research, 16 March 1988, Faculty of Economics, Tilburg University, Tilburg.
Propedeuse Econometrics (cum laude), August 1984, Tilburg University, Tilburg.
Secondary school: Athenaeum Beta (cum laude), May 1983.
Selected books
Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh (2018). Human Evolution Beyond Biology and Culture: Evolutionary Social, Environmental and Policy Sciences. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108564922. ISBN 9781108564922.
J.C.J.M. van den Bergh (ed.) (1999), Handbook of Environmental and Resource Economics. Edward Elgar Publ., Cheltenham, UK ISBN 978-1843762362
J.C.J.M. van den Bergh, A. Barendregt and A. Gilbert (2004). Spatial Ecological-Economic Analysis for Wetland Management: Modelling and Scenario Evaluation of Land Use, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107405110
J.C.J.M. van den Bergh and M.A. Janssen (eds.) (2005). Economics of Industrial Ecology: Use of Materials, Structural Change and Spatial Scales. The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262220712
J.C.J.M. van den Bergh, J. Hoekstra, R. Imeson, P. Nunes and A. de Blaeij (2006). Economic Modeling and Policy Analysis of Exploited Marine Ecosystems. Springer. ISBN 978-140204041-2
J.C.J.M. van den Bergh, A. Faber, A.M. Idenburg and F.H. Oosterhuis (2007). Evolutionary Economics and Environmental Policy: Survival of the Greenest. Edward Elgar. ISBN 978-1845429553
Most cited articles:
Economic growth and emissions: reconsidering the empirical basis of environmental Kuznets curves
SM De Bruyn, JCJM van den Bergh, JB Opschoor
Ecological Economics 25 (2), 161-175 1998
Spatial sustainability, trade and indicators: an evaluation of the ‘ecological footprint’
JCJM Van den Bergh, H Verbruggen
Ecological economics 29 (1), 61-72 1999
Ecological-economic analysis of wetlands: scientific integration for management and policy
RK Turner, JCJM Van Den Bergh, T Söderqvist, A Barendregt, ...
Ecological economics 35 (1), 7-23 2000
Comparing structural decomposition analysis and index
R Hoekstra, JCJM Van den Bergh
Energy economics 25 (1), 39-64 2003
Economic valuation of biodiversity: sense or nonsense?
PALD Nunes, JCJM van den Bergh
Ecological economics 39 (2), 203-222 2001
Environment versus growth—A criticism of “degrowth” and a plea for “a-growth”
JCJM Van den Bergh
Ecological economics 70 (5), 881-890 2011