Jouke van Dijk (1956) is Professor of Regional Labour Market Analysis and chair of the Department of Economic Geography at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences of the University of Groningen. He also Board Member of the Wadden Academy, a research institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, that sets the agenda and coordinates research activities in the field of Ecology, Geology, Economics and Social Sciences in the Wadden area. Van Dijk graduated in 1981 in Regional Science at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Groningen. In 1986 he obtained his doctoral degree on the thesis 'Migration and the Labour Market'. From 1981 till 1991 he hold several positions at the Department of Spatial Economics of the Faculty of Economics.

Van Dijk teaches courses like Introduction in Micro- and Macro Economics, Regional Labour Market Analysis, Economic Geography and Migration partly in Dutch and in English.

His research has a strong focus on labour market isssues like unemployment, employment, the dynamics of regional labour markets and migration. Other topics of interest are regional disparities, regional development and growth, regional and labour market policy, policy evaluation, sectoral and functional changes in employment and production, innovation potential and performance, education and schooling, volunteer work, and extends to firm demography issues like locational behaviour of firms and entrepreneurship.The results of his work can be found in a broad variety of national and international journals and books (see list of publications).

Van Dijk is programme leader of the Economic Geography research programme "Explaining Spatial Economic Change" that focusses on regional labour market analysis and firm demography. The research in this programme over the periode 2000-2006 was rated as one of the best in the Netherlands in the report "Assessment of Urban and Regional Research in the Netherlands, 2000-2006" by an international evaluation committee in 2007. The average score was 4.5 on a 5-point scale, comprising of scores of 4.6 on Quality (excellent quality, internationally at the forfront), 4.5 on Quantity (disproportionately high quantity), 4.4 on Relevance (very good social and economic impact) and 4.3 on Viability (long standing research reputation).

Jouke van Dijk serves several scientific journals as Editor, Member of the Editorial Board or reviewer.

• Editor-in-Chief van Papers in Regional Science, since 2007
• European Editor van Papers in Regional Science
• Member Editorial Board Journal of Geographical Systems, since 2007.
• Member Editorial Board Romanian Journal of Regional Science, since 2007.
• Member Editorial Board Journal of Economic and Social Geography (Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie), since 2002.
• Editor It Beaken (the scientific journal of the Fryske Akademy) (2000-2010)
• Member Editorial Board Papers in Regional Science (2001-2004)
• Member Editorial Board Environment & Planning B (1996-1998)

PhD-projects supervised by Prof.dr. Jouke van Dijk:

• Viktor Venhorst, 'Housing- and labour market mobility of higher educated in The Netherlands',(with Prof.dr. Leo J.G. van Wissen). To be completed in 2011.
• Inge Noback, 'Regional labour market dynamics and the gender employment gap', to be completed 2011. Project financed by the Netherlands Association for Scientific Research.
• Arjen Edzes, 'National, regional and local labour market policy in The Netherlands' (with Dr. A. Glebbeek and Dr. L. Broersma). To be completed in 2010. Project partly financed by NICIS and 13 Dutch Municipalities.
• Gerke Hoogstra, 'The interaction between employment and population growth'. To be completed 2010.
• Mohammed Mustajab, 'Economic Effects and Decision Making Processes of Public Infrastructure Investment in Indonesia'. Groningen: RUG/FRW, 161p. PhD-defence 29 June 2009. (with Prof.dr. P.H. Pellenbarg). To be completed in 2009. Project is financed with a Bernoulli scholarship as part of the Ubbo Emmius scholarship programme in cooperation with the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Republic of Indonesia.
• Kurt Niquidet, 'Essays on the economics of British Columbian Timber Policy', Groningen: RUG/FRW, 126p. PhD-defense 25 October 2007 (with Prof.dr. Henk Folmer)
• Sierdjan Koster, 'Whose child? How existing firms foster new firm formation: individual start-ups, spin-outs and spin-offs', Groningen: RUG/FRW, p.218. PhD-defense 5 October 2006 (with Prof.dr. Leo J.G. van Wissen).
• Ida Terluin, 'Rural regions in the EU - Exploring differences in economic development'. Utrecht/Groningen: KNAG/FRW/RUG. Netherlands Geographical Studies 289, 265p. PhD-defense 26 November 2001 (with Prof.dr. Paulus P.P.Huigen).
• Ruud Dorenbos, 'Labour Market Adjustments in Hungary and Poland', Groningen: SOM/Labyrint Publications, 313p. PhD-defense 25 March 1999 (with Prof.dr. Piet H. Pellenbarg). Project financed by the Netherlands Association for Scientific Research.

Van Dijk is member of the Governing Board of the Urban and Regional Studies Institute (URSI), the research institute of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences and member of the Daily Board of the Graduate School of Spatial Sciences. He is fellow of the national Graduate School and Research Institute Nethur, member of the General Board of Nethur and leader of the research theme 'Innovation and the Dynamics of Spatial-Economic Development'. From September 2002 till September 2005 he was Vice-Dean, responsible for Research, of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences of the University of Groningen and director of URSI. Till the end of 2002 he was fellow of the Graduate School and Research Institute SOM and leader of the research theme 'Regional Science'.

Van Dijk is advisor and referee for a broad variety of national and international scientific journals, publishers, PhD-research in in the Netherlands and abroad and, among others, the Dutch National Science Foundation, the European Science Foundation, the Uunited States National Science Foundation and the Norges Forskningsråd/The Research Counsil of Norway. He also served a number of professional associations. Among others, he has been Secretary and member of the European Organising Committee of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) in the period 1993-2002 and 2006-2010. He is also a member of the Council of the Regional Science Association international (RSAI). He is a member of the the International Geographical Union, the European Association of Labour Economists (EALE) and the American Economic Association. He has been involved in the organisation of various (inter)national conferences, workshops etc. He acted as Secretary of the Local Organising Committee of the 34th Congress of the European Regional Science Association that took place in Groningen in 1994 and as Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the 14th ERSA Summer Institute "To live and work in different urban systems" held in Groningen in June 2001. In 2003 he was chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the Dutch National Geography Conference 2003. He is treasurer of the Local Organising Committtee of 19th Advanced Summer School in Regional Science "GIS & Spatial Econometrics" that was held in Groningen from 4-12 July 2006 and is financed by the PREPARE programma of the European Union.

He is acting as advisor and consultant for the European Union, various ministries, provinces and municipalities, private firms and research institutes, the public employment service, unions and other organisations dealing with labor market issues and regional development.