Hans Koster

Hans Koster (1987) is Full Professor of Urban Economics and Real Estate at the Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Hans obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and his master’s degree (cum laude) in Spatial Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He defended his Ph.D. thesis in 2013 on the economics of the spatial structure of cities. Hans is also a Leading Research Fellow at the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, affiliated as Research Fellow with the Tinbergen Institute, as Research Associate with the Centre for Economic Performance (Urban Programme) at the London School of Economics, and as Research Affiliate with the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Hans’s research concerns the economic analysis of cities, regions and the environment. His interests lie in understanding the functioning of housing and land markets, the agglomeration of firms and people within cities, the consequences of place-based policies, income inequality and segregation within cities, as well as the functioning of retail and commercial property markets within cities. Hans’s research relies on big data and the use of advanced econometric techniques.

Hans was ranked 24th in the ESB Dutch Economist Top 40 in 2020.

Teaching experience Master course Advanced Methods for Applied Spatial Economic Research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Master course Applied Spatial Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Bachelor course Urban Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Bachelor project (paper supervision) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam B.Sc. and M.Sc. thesis supervision at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Master course Empirical Methods for Spatial Policy (tutorials) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Bachelor course Statistical Methods and Techniques (tutorials and paper supervision) at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam Guest lectures at the University of Moratuwa, University of Antwerp, Universiteit Utrecht, and the Universiteit Twente.

Hans holds a university teaching qualification (Basiskwalificatie Onderwijs).

Reviewing Hans is associate editor at Regional Science and Urban Economics and has reviewed articles submitted to the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of the European Economic Association, American Economics Journal: Economic Policy, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Economic Geography, European Economic Review, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, Transportation Research Part B, Journal of Regional Science, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Energy Economics, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, Journal of Housing Economics, Economic Inquiry, Environment and Planning A, International Regional Science Review, Land Use Policy, Urban Studies, Regional Studies, Real Estate Research Quarterly, and De Economist.

Grants * 2014 – VENI grant for project “Places, planning, prices and politics: The Welfare Economics of Urban Planning”. * 2014 – Data-without-boundaries grant (EU funded) for project “Land Use Planning, Agglomeration Economies And The Office Market: Evidence From Blitz Bombings” – with Gerard Dericks (Oxford University) * 2012 – LSE STICERD grant for project “The Determinants of Residential Vacancy Rates” – with Paul Cheshire (LSE) and Christian Hilber (LSE)

Prizes and Awards

• 2014 – August Lösch Prize for dissertation “The Internal Structure of Cities: The Economics of Agglomeration, Amenities and Accessibility”.
• 2013 – Finalist (1/3) for Junior Societal Impact Award at VU University Amsterdam