The Financial Policies, Institutions and Markets chair focuses on the stability of the financial sector and the implementation of policy instruments to improve it. Systemic risks in the financial sector can severely disrupt economic development, as the financial crisis has taught us, and a stable financial system is an essential precondition for the spreading of risks, dampening of shocks and generation of financial resources. When these functions come under excessive pressure, the resulting damage has ramifications far beyond the financial sector alone.

Aerdt Houben has extensive experience in the fields of financial stability, financial markets and the currency-based economy. He has worked on policy relating to these areas in various national and international positions, and has published extensively on these subjects as well. As a UvA professor, Houben’s activities will consist of teaching and of researching ways in which to increase the stability of the financial sector, with a particular emphasis on bringing science and actual policy practice together, also taking into account the role of international dependencies.

The chair will be established within the Amsterdam School of Economics (ASE) of the Faculty of Economics and Business. ASE President Prof. Roel Beetsma is very pleased with the appointment. ‘The recruitment of Aerdt Houben represents a major impulse not just for our research, but also for the quality and content of teaching at the ASE. Houben’s practical knowledge in the field of financial stability will be of great value to our students, and his chair will combine well with the chair of Monetary Stability of DNB president Klaas Knot. With the extensive experience in policy of these two professors, the ASE’s collective expertise will increase even further.’

Houben has been leading the Financial Markets division of DNB since 1 May 2015. Previously, he headed DNB’s Financial Stability division and departments in DNB’s Policy Supervision division and Monetary and Economic Policy division. He also worked at the International Monetary Fund. Houben graduated with honours in both General Economics and Business Economics from the University of Groningen, where he also obtained a doctorate for his research into the development of monetary policy strategies in Europe. He is a member of various committees with the Bank for International Settlements, the Financial Stability Board, the European Systemic Risk Board and the European Central Bank.