VU Amsterdam Big Data and Economics Research Network (BVRN)

The BVRN is a network of academics at the University of Birmingham (UoB) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) undertaking data-driven economic analyses of urban, environment, labour and migration-related topics. Since 2017, the network has developed organically based upon the common interests and complementary skills of UoB and VU academics. Its primary aim is to analyse topical and policy relevant issues for the UK and the Netherlands, often using big data.

Following Ceren Ozgen’s move from VU to UoB via the European Commission’s Marie-Sklodowska Curie Fellowship scheme in 2016, UoB became one of only a handful of UK universities to have authorised access to Dutch administrative data. The availability of this high quality data was a catalyst to the development of the network and many UoB researchers and PhD students now benefit from its use within their research.

A growing number of researchers from UoB and VU have published impactful research in high quality journals and continue to collaborate on joint academic papers using both Dutch and UK data, along with grant applications, and research seminars at both institutions.

Going forward the aims of the network are to further:

1. Facilitate knowledge exchange in a tangible way

2. Allow access to high-quality datasets for Economics research and share accumulated experience

3. Facilitate a supportive, encouraging and rigorous environment in which to discuss research

4. Mobilise short term staff/PhD student exchange between Birmingham and Amsterdam

We always welcome new ideas, perspectives and collaborators. In addition to established researchers, we are keen to inspire early career researchers and PhD students by providing them with excellent data sources for their research.

Feel free to get in touch with Ceren Ozgen (UoB) or Hans Koster (VU) to find out more.

Publications

Working Papers

Cole, M.A., Jabbour, L., Ozgen, C. and Yumoto, H. (2024). Refugees’ Economic Integration and Firms’. IZA Discussion Paper No. 16828.

Cole, M.A., Jabbour, L., Ozgen, C. and Yumoto, H. (2024). Invisible Immigrants: Urbanisation, Co-Cational Density and the Legal Integration of Refugees. IZA Discussion Paper (forthcoming).

Acemoglu, D, Koster, HRA & Ozgen, C. (2023) 'Robots and Workers: Evidence from the Netherlands' NBER working paper series, no. 31009, National Bureau of Economic Research.

Publications

Koster, H.R.A. and Pinchbeck, E. (2022). How Do Households Value the Future? Evidence from Property Taxes, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14, 1, pp. 207-39.

Koster, H.R.A. and Ozgen, C. (2021) Cities and Tasks, Journal of Urban Economics, 126, 103386.

Dericks, G. Koster, H.R.A. (2021) The Billion Pound Drop: The Blitz and Agglomeration Economies in London, Journal of Economic Geography, 21, 6, pp. 869-97.

Koster, H.R.A. and Ozgen, C. (2021) Cities and Tasks, forthcoming, Journal of Urban Economics.

Koster, H.R.A. and Pinchbeck, E. (2021). How Do Households Value the Future? Evidence from Property Taxes, forthcoming, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.

Cole, M.A., Ozgen, C. and Strobl, E. (2020). Air Pollution Exposure and Covid-19 in Dutch Municipalities. Environmental and Resource Economics, 76, 4, pp. 581-610.

Elliott, R.J.R., Schumacher, I. & Withagen, C. (2020). Suggestions for a Covid-19 Post-Pandemic Research Agenda in Environmental Economics, Environmental and Resource Economics, vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 1187-1213.

Carmichael F., Darko C., Ercolani M., Ozgen C., Siebert S. (2020) Evidence on intergenerational income transmission using complete Dutch population data, Economics Letters, 189(108996).

de Graaff, T., Arribas-Bel, D., & Ozgen, C. (2018). Demographic Aging and Employment Dynamics in German Regions: Modelling Regional Heterogeneity. In

Modelling Aging and Migration Effects on Spatial Labour Markets (pp. 211-231). Springer, Cham.

Ozgen C., Nijkamp P., Poot J. (2017) The Elusive Effects of Workplace Diversity on Innovation, Papers in Regional Science, 96(S1):29-49

Media and public engagement in BVRN

We published an article on this research in The Conversation

Articles solely discussing our research have now appeared in:

Algemeen Dagblad (Dutch national newspaper)

NL Times

Many science sites, such as:

Bnn

Scientias

The scientist

Het Parool (Dutch national newspaper)

Trouw (Dutch national newspaper)

Het Parool (Dutch national newspaper)

We have also been published in newspapers and other media in Portugal, Austria and Switzerland and many, many others particularly in the Netherlands.

Dutch Micro-data Services and Access Conditions

Statistics Netherlands (CBS abbreviated in Dutch) is the national institute that publishes reliable and coherent official statistics in the Netherlands. CBS also serves the European community and provides statistical info on the Netherlands.

In the last decade Statistics Netherlands has opened its extensive databases to the research community and policy institutions, under certain confidentiality agreements and conditions. Dutch researchers have shown a significant interest in using this huge number of datasets on a range of subject areas. In the last 10 years the number of active users of the micro-data services increased from about 10 to more than 600 researchers from all over Europe. Also, with the help of the Data without Boundaries project[1] the outreach to international community increased significantly. In the UK there are only a handful participating universities who have secure access to Dutch micro-data: Oxford University, University of Edinburg, University of Bath, University of Essex and University of Exeter.

Authorised institutions can conduct their own research using microdata from Statistics Netherlands (hereafter CBS). This microdata are linkable at the level of individuals, companies and addresses, and are made available to researchers under strict confidentiality conditions. To obtain access for research purposes, an application form should be filled in and submitted. As a rule, the complete results of the research conducted with microdata must be made directly available to interested parties at no charge.

In general, the following organisations may be granted access to CBS microdata:

Dutch universities
Institutes for scientific research
Organisations for policy advice or policy analysis
Statistical authorities in other EU countries
Other research institutions authorised to work with the microdata

If an organisation does not have authorisation to work with the microdata, an application can be made using the following link: Application form for organisations. The following conditions must be met to be granted access:

The primary mission of the institution is to conduct statistical or scientific research.
The researcher will publish the results of their research.

There are two options for accessing the microdata:

By visiting the office ‘on site’ in either The Hague or Heerlen.
By working from within your own organisation through a secured internet connection (remote access).

The Microdata Services Department (MSD) of the CBS provides extensive support to researchers who are interested in using microdata. This support may involve email correspondence or face-to-face meetings. MSD also offers to prepare customised datasets and algorithms to link various datasets, subject to certain fees based on hours of work. It is also possible to commission brand new research or expand on an existing survey. Researchers can select the datasets from a wide range of subject areas in line with their own interest and will only be given access to the data that is needed for their research. It is also possible to upload one’s own datasets and link these with CBS microdata. The CBS will provide a secure online working environment in which the researcher can store draft versions, syntaxes, and output. All the microdata will remain in this secure CBS environment. If the researcher wishes to export (draft) results from the secure environment, the export will be carried out by CBS after verification that the results do not obtain any data that permits the identification of individuals. More details can be found in output guidelines.

The main subject areas included in the Microdata catalogue are as follows:

Labour and social security
Enterprises
Financial and business services
Population
Income and expenditure
International trade
Manufacturing industry and energy
Macroeconomics
Construction and dwellings
Health and welfare
Trade, hotels and restaurants
Agriculture
Nature and environment
The Netherlands, regional data
Education
Government and politics
Prices
System of Social Statistical Datasets
Security and justice
Traffic and transport
Leisure and culture