Two applied economists at Erasmus School of Economics awarded NWO Vidi grants

The Vidi grant is part of NWO’s Talent Programme and supports researchers as they take the next step towards academic leadership. It gives them the opportunity to pursue ambitious, innovative research projects.

Of the 35 Vidi grants awarded nationally in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) domain, 27 went to female researchers and eight to male researchers. Chen Li and Jana Cahlikova are the only two recipients from Erasmus University Rotterdam in this domain for this application round.

Patrick Groenen, Dean of Erasmus School of Economics, praises both laureates: 'As a school we are very happy with this amazing achievement. Both projects address topics that are more important than ever in the current world: decision making and discrimination. I cannot wait to see what both projects will result in.' 

Chen Li: How emotions shape strategic interactions

Chen Li’s project, “Feeling Strategic: How Emotions Shape Strategic Interactions”, investigates how emotional communication influences decision-making when people are uncertain about others’ intentions and actions.

In such situations, emotions such as anger, pride and disappointment can shape how people interpret information and make strategic decisions. By combining insights from psychology and sociology with economic modelling and experiments, Li aims to develop a framework for measuring how emotions influence beliefs, cooperation and negotiation. The findings could help inform the design of interventions in situations involving social interaction.

Li’s research focuses on decision-making under uncertainty and over time. She obtained her BSc in Financial Engineering from Beihang University in China and graduated cum laude with an MSc in Stochastics and Financial Mathematics from the University of Amsterdam. She received her PhD from Erasmus School of Economics in March 2015, supervised by Professors Aurélien Baillon, Han Bleichrodt and Peter Wakker.

In 2019, Li received both an Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) Fellowship and an NWO Veni grant. In 2023, she was subsequently appointed Professor of Behavioural Economics. Earlier in 2026, Li also received an NWO Open Competition SSHXS grant.

Jana Cahlikova: Why do some people discriminate more than others?

Jana Cahlikova’s project, “Groupish or not: Why do some people discriminate more than others?”, examines why some individuals discriminate more than others, and whether this tendency varies depending on the group boundary involved, such as ethnicity, gender or political affiliation.

The project also investigates whether discriminatory behaviour is consistent over time or depends on the situation. Cahlikova will combine a large panel study tracking the same individuals over several years with online experiments and brain measurements. She will examine whether discrimination is consistent across different group boundaries, whether it is driven by beliefs about other groups, and which characteristics distinguish people who discriminate more from those who discriminate less. The findings could help inform policies aimed at reducing discrimination.

Cahlikova’s research focuses on the darker side of human social behaviour, including group biases, antisocial behaviour, tax avoidance and behaviour under acute stress. She uses economic experiments in laboratory, field, lab-in-the-field and online settings to investigate how social and institutional environments influence behaviour.

She obtained her PhD from CERGE-EI (Czech Republic) in 2016 and joined Erasmus School of Economics in 2024, following postdoctoral positions in Munich and Bonn. She is a research fellow at the Tinbergen Institute and an associate member of the Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM).