Partners and projects
Throughout the years, several companies have started a corporate partnership with the Amsterdam School of Economics. Find a selection of sponsored Chairs and research projects.
Sponsored Chairs
- The Chair in Risk and Insurance, sponsored by the Verbond van Verzekeraars (Dutch Association of Insurers), explores the complexity of modern insurance policies and the increasing interconnectedness of insurance risks to other forms of risk. Research done in the context of this Chair has led to further investigation into the micro- and macroeconomic aspects of insurance. The Chair is currently held by Professor Roger Laeven.
- The Chair in (Enterprise) Risk Management, sponsored by the Stichting Assurantiebeurs Amsterdam, intends to promote education and research in the field of insurance studies and enterprise risk management. This Chair is currently held by Professor Arjen Ronner, who was an executive director at AON Risk Management.
- The Chair in Financial Policies, Institutions and Markets, sponsored by De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch Central Bank) studies the stability of the financial sector and the use of policy instruments such as capital buffers to achieve this objective. International interdependencies are an important aspect in this connection. The Chair is currently held by Professor Aerdt Houben, Division Director at De Nederlandsche Bank.
- The Chair in Implementatie Financieel Gedragsrecht, sponsored by NIBE-SVV, focuses on the implementation of financial law in banks and insurance companies and the relevant obstacles that both the sector and the supervisory authorities are confronted with. Current holder of the Chair is Professor Rob Schotsman. He is also the director of the UvA Academy for Banking and Insurance, a joint venture between the UvA and NIBE-SVV to provide post-Master's education to senior officials in the financial sector.
- The MN Chair in Pension Economics was founded in 2012 with the aim to enhance our knowledge about the design of pension systems, pension policies and their interaction with the macro-economy. This Named Chair is sponsored by MN Services N.V. The current holder of the Chair is Professor Roel Beetsma. The Chair features an elaborate research programme in the aforementioned fields. The programme also features 3 PhD projects.
- The Chair in Project and Program Evaluation for International Development, sponsored by the Amsterdam Institute for International Development, evaluates interventions in health and education policies in developing countries. The current Chair holder is Professor Menno Pradhan.
Sponsored research projects
- The PhD project Contagion, Systemic Risk and Portfolio Choice is a joint project of the UvA and APG Asset Management. It focuses on asset allocation and asset pricing under financial contagion. The project is executed by Zhenzhen Fan.
- The project A Fair Pricing Framework Application to Public Sector DB Schemes: Making the Effects Explicit is sponsored by the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management. It aims at investigating the financial sustainability of the state and local civil servants’ defined-benefit pension arrangements in the U.S. These arrangements form an increasing threat to the subnational public sector budgets. The project is part of the PhD project of Zina Lekniute.
- Researchers from the Actuarial Science and Mathematical Finance research group of the ASE participate in the Netspar project Risk management in Funded Pension Systems. Netspar (the Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement) was established in 2005 and aims to stimulate collaboration between academic researchers and professionals working for pension funds, insurance companies and regulators. The main goal of this 3-year study is to quantify the effects of changes in pension contracts with regard to risk management and supervision in the second pillar (pension plans or group insurance from employers) and the third pillar (individual pension savings). This requires the use of models in which uncertainty in both financial and demographic parameters are considered. The recent financial crisis combined with ongoing increases in life expectancy has sparked a debate in the Netherlands concerning the future of the Dutch pension system. Pension funds, regulators, policy makers and insurance companies who are responsible for the third pillar in the pension system and PPI’s may have to work with newly defined pension contracts, new challenges in asset allocation due to longevity and inflation risk, and prolonged adverse conditions on financial markets. In this project, researchers from the University of Amsterdam, Tilburg University and the University of Edinburgh cooperate with various insurance companies and pension funds to address the new challenges for the Dutch pension system. The project is coordinated by Professor Michel Vellekoop of the University of Amsterdam.
- The PhD project Contagion, Systemic Risk and Portfolio Choice (working title) conducted by Zhenzhen Fan has been set up in cooperation with pension provider APG Asset Management. Research takes place both at the section Quantitative Economics of the ASE and at APG Asset Management. The project is supervised by UvA Professor Roger Laeven and APG Head of Investment Research Dr Rob van den Goorbergh, and focuses on asset allocation and asset pricing under financial contagion.
- The PhD project Economic and Statistical Aspects of Insurance Fraud (working title) conducted by Yuan Yue has been set up in cooperation with insurance claims management specialist Van Ameyde. The research project is supervised by UvA Professor Roger Laeven, and focuses on modelling and understanding insurance fraud from an econometric perspective. During the course of the project, the research findings are disseminated in a blog on Van Ameyde's website.