Rick van der Ploeg

Biography

Rick van der Ploeg is Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford, Distinguished University Professor at the University of Amsterdam, and Research Fellow of CEPR, CESifo and the Tinbergen Institute.

His research is on the economics of climate change and the economics of resource-rich economics, focusing mainly on macroeconomic growth and open economy issues, financial questions, and problems in public economic and political economy.

He has previously taught at the University of Cambridge, LSE, Tilburg, VU and the European University, Florence.

He has also been a Chief Financial Spokesperson in the Dutch Parliament, State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science in the Netherlands, and Vice Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

He has extensive consultancy experience with supranational organisations, governments, and private businesses.

Interviews

Rick van der Ploeg on Natural Resources & Climate Policy. Social Science Encyclopedia. May x, 2026.

Publications (Selected)

Climate coalitions with sophisticated policy makers, Journal of Public Economics, 255, 105593. With Sareh Vosooghi and Maria Arvaniti.

Macro-financial implications of climate change and the carbon transition, pp. 90-142 in Central Banks in a Shifting World, Sintra Conference Proceedings, European Central Bank, Frankfurt.

Oil discoveries and protectionism: the role of news effects, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 107, C, 102425 With Fidel Perez-Sebastian and Ohad Raveh.

The risk-adjusted carbon price, American Economic Review, 111, 9, 2782-2810. With Ton van den Bremer.

Are economists getting climate dynamics right and does it matter?, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 8, 5. With Simon Dietz, Armon Rezai and Frank Venmans

Macro-financial risks in the fight against global warming, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 16, 2, 173-195. With Emanuele Campiglio.

Europe needs to rewire its energy-green policy mix, EconPol Forum, 26, 2, 42-45. With Rabah Arezki and Jean-Pierre Landau.

Third-best taxation: trading off emissions cuts, equity, and efficiency, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 12, July, 1023-1058. With Armon Rezai and Miguel Tovar.

Green transitions: Complementarities, multiple equilibria, and tipping points, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Volume 41, Issue 2, Summer 2025, Pages 377–394With Tony Venables.

Education

PhD Engineering, University of Cambridge

BSc First Class Honours, University of Sussex

Institutions

University of Oxford

University of Amsterdam

University of Cambridge

London School of Economics

Tilburg University

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

European University, Florence

Dutch Parliament

Topics

Macroeconomics

Public Economics

International Economics

Economic Development

Political Economy

Natural Resources

Climate