Meet the Lecturers for The Economic Theory of Decision-Making

Dr Lia van Wesenbeeck is an expert in general equilibrium theory and applications, in particular focusing on the representation of non-market next to market choices, the modelling of the water-energy-food nexus. In addition, she has extensive experience in spatially explicit statistical analysis of survey and map data, and profiling of vulnerable groups. She is lecturing in the field of economics and food security, in the Netherlands and abroad, has supervised over 35 students at Bachelor and Master level, has supervised and is supervising a number of PhD students focusing on the impact of climate change and the WEF nexus. In addition, she serves on various national and international boards and committees. 

She has led several international research projects in Africa and the Carribean and has contributed to evaluations of Dutch development programmes in the field of water and food security. Currently (2024-2026), she is the international project leader of "Feed4Food", and EU-sponsored research project aiming to develop inclusive and sustainable urban agriculture in three European cities.

David Jackson is currently a Postdoc at Vrije University's Department of Economics. His current research focuses on developing a theoretical model incorporating informal norm enforcement, but his research interests extend to political economy and understanding how systems of incentives can be structured to either neutralise negative externalities or encourage positive externalities that are not being realised. 

He holds a BSc. in Biochemistry and Cellular Biology from Auckland University, a BSc. in Physics from  Melbourne University and a Masters in Physics from Stockholm University.  He haS had a diverse career, working in many different professions, from foreign exchange dealer to professional yacht captain.