The economy of South Holland, a new white paper Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities

The central question of the white paper, “The Economy of South Holland”, is: how will South Holland earn its income in the future, and how can the province achieve the sustainable and social transitions needed to remain competitive? In their introduction, Frank van Oort, Professor of Urban & Regional Economics, and Martijn Burger note: ‘with the right vision and strategy, we can combine economic growth with social prosperity and competitiveness with achieving climate goals.’ 

Labour market, the knowledge economy, and broad prosperity 

The white paper is organised around six themes: the labour market, the international economy, the knowledge economy and innovation, broad prosperity, and long-term vision.  

Robert Dur, Professor of Economics, and Paul de Hek (SEOR) examine South Holland’s labour market, arguing that its structural tightness calls for creative solutions and that change may even work to the labour market’s advantage.  

On innovation in the knowledge economy, Frank van Oort emphasises that economic progress in South Holland hinges on innovation and a well-functioning labour market.  

In another chapter, Hans van Kippersluis, Professor of Applied Economics, points out that ‘everyone supports equal opportunities, but not everyone agrees on how to achieve them.’ In their contribution, he and Lieke Beekers (Leiden University) stress that structural policies are essential to reducing the opportunity gap, as inequality is driven primarily by living conditions and socioeconomic factors rather than access to services.