Personal:
Mathieu Steijn is an assistant professor of Urban Economics at the Department of Spatial Economics of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He holds a PhD from Utrecht University (2022).
Research:
His research focuses on the fundamental question: Why is growth inequally distributed over regions and between social groups within regions? He focuses strongly on social mobility: the changes in socioeconomic status of people over time. By examining regional labour markets and the role of neighbourhoods and their social infrastructure herein. His work provides evidence to support more effective policies on regional development, social mobility, and inclusive growth. Among others, by collaborating closely with the Kenniscentrum Ongelijkheid.
In 2026, he received the NWO-Veni grant for his research ‘The role of social infrastructure in social mobility’. With this grant, Steijn studies how social infrastructure, such as sports clubs and libraries, can strengthen social connections and improve upward social mobility for children from low-income families. By mapping these places and their users, he aims to generate actionable insights that help policymakers create more opportunities for future generations.
His Ph.D. thesis examined the relationship between spatial inequality and the changing role of agglomeration economies in the context of technological progress, globalization, and economic crises.
Teaching:
Mathieu Steijn teaches various courses at the bachelor level: the field trip to Salzburg and Stedelijke Uitdagingen ("Urban challenges") in the BSc Aarde, Economie & Duurzaamheid at VU; De Stad ("The City) in the BSc Betagamma at the UvA; and Sustainable City at AUC. He also supervises theses in various BScs and MScs at VU and AUC and developed a course for professionals on working with public data with the Kenniscentrum Ongelijkheid.
In addition, he is strongly involved in improving educational practices. At the didactic level, by improving student engagement and autonomy through giving students more ownership in class content and by the introduction of Socratic Conversations. At the content level, he tries to introduce more critical thinking on the mainstream approach of economics by introducing students to philosophical and sociological approaches that differ.
He was a committee member in the BSc evaluation committee of the BSc Economics and Business Economics, and the founding committee for the new BSc "Sociale economie", which did not materialize due to concerns of the government about too much competition in the social sciences in the Amsterdam area. He is also the founder and organizer of the Ars Docendi teaching seminar at the Department of Spatial Economics.
