Bas van Bavel and Auke Rijpma

Bas van Bavel: “In 2014, I was appointed distinguished Faculty Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University. The title of my chair is “Transitions of Economy and Society”. This title closely reflects the work within the interdisciplinary research theme at Utecht University, “Institutions for Open Societies”, of which I act as the scientific director, and also the start of a new, ERC-funded project, called “Coordinating for life”, on the resilience of societies and its determinants. Besides my research responsibilities, I teach at the Departments of History and Economics, and I act as the chair of the Social Sciences and Humanities council of the Netherlands, In 2019, I received the Spinoza Prize from the NWO, the highest scientific distinction in the Netherlands...” Auke Rijpma: “I'm a lecturer in economic and social history at Utrecht University. My research interests include quantitative methods, economic development, and the measurement of wellbeing.”