Machiel Mulder appointed professor of Regulation of Energy Markets

As of June 1^st 2013, Machiel Mulder (PhD) has been appointed endowed professor of Regulation of Energy Markets at the Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance of the Faculty of Economics & Business at the University of Groningen. Professor Mulder has been affiliated with the FEB since 2011, as a visiting researcher. He is considered a specialist in the field of energy and environmental economics and regulating network industries.

The endowed chair addresses the question of how well energy markets function and which (regulatory) measures governments could take in order to realize improvements. This involves the complete energy chain, so not only wholesale markets but also transport and distribution, as well as retail markets. With this new chair the Faculty of Economics & Business supports one of the key topics of the University of Groningen, namely, that of energy. The chair is supported by the Netherlands Authority for Markets and Consumers (ACM).

Educational background

Machiel Mulder studied Economics at the University of Groningen, on which he graduated cum laude in 1985. During that time he was already working as a research assistant at the Faculty. He obtained his doctorate at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, with his thesis “Sector exploration and financial analysis, a simulation model for the horticulture under glass”.

Research Energy Economics

In the field of Energy andEnvironmental Economics, professor Mulder acquired extensive experience in both research institutions and government organizations. He worked, for instance, at the Agricultural Economic Research Institute (LEI), where he conducted his PhD research. As head of the department of Energy and Program manager Network Industries of the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) , he was closely involved in formulating dutch energy and environmental policies. As Deputy Chief Economist at the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa), he had co-responsibility for the economic foundation of regulating the energy markets. Currently, professor Mulder is working as specialist Regulatory Economics at the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM). He is also chair of the Benelux Association for Energy Economics (BAEE). He will combine these activities with his chair as professor of Regulation of Energy Markets, one day a week at the FEB.