Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh

Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh (born August 1, 1965) is an environmental economist of Dutch origin. He is ICREA Research Professor at and deputy director for Research of its Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, and professor of Environmental and Resource Economics at VU University Amsterdam. In September 2007 he was appointed ICREA Research Professor at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and honorary professor of Environmental and Resource Economics at VU. In 2010 he became the editor-in-chief of the Elsevier journal Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. From 2003 to 2007 he was a member of the Energy Council of The Netherlands. In 2004 he was appointed a member of the scientific advisory board of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research. On 26 September 2019 the Open University of the Netherlands awarded him an honorary doctorate (“eredoctoraat” in Dutch).

According to his ICREA profile page as of March 2015, his research is on "the intersection of economics, environmental science and innovation studies. Past work includes dematerialization and recycling, ecological-economic modelling, construction of aggregate economic and environmental performance indicators, the growth-versus-environment debate, and spatial/international aspects of environmental policy. Work in recent years involves evolutionary economics, environmental innovation, and economic analysis of climate policy and a transition to a low-carbon economy."

According to RePEc, in October 2025 van den Bergh was ranked #10 among the 2,794 economists of Spain. As of March 2015 he is a member of the Academia Europaea.

Views According to a scientific paper of van den Bergh, degrowth is often seen as an ambiguous concept due to its various interpretations, which can lead to confusion rather than a clear and constructive debate on environmental policy. Many interpretations of degrowth do not offer effective strategies for reducing environmental impact or transitioning to a sustainable economy. Additionally, degrowth is unlikely to gain significant social or political support, making it an ineffective strategy for achieving environmental sustainability.

In his paper, van den Bergh highlights that a focus solely on reducing consumption (or consumption degrowth) may lead to rebound effects. For instance, reducing consumption of certain goods and services might result in an increase in spending on other items, as disposable income remains unchanged. Alternatively, it could lead to savings, which would provide additional funds for others to borrow and spend.

Selected books

J.C.J.M. van den Bergh (ed.) (1999), Handbook of Environmental and Resource Economics. Edward Elgar Publ., Cheltenham, UK J.C.J.M. van den Bergh, A. Barendregt and A. Gilbert (2004). Spatial Ecological-Economic Analysis for Wetland Management: Modelling and Scenario Evaluation of Land Use, Cambridge University Press. J.C.J.M. van den Bergh and M.A. Janssen (eds.) (2005). Economics of Industrial Ecology: Use of Materials, Structural Change and Spatial Scales. The MIT Press. J.C.J.M. van den Bergh, J. Hoekstra, R. Imeson, P. Nunes and A. de Blaeij (2006). Economic Modeling and Policy Analysis of Exploited Marine Ecosystems. Springer. J.C.J.M. van den Bergh, A. Faber, A.M. Idenburg and F.H. Oosterhuis (2007). Evolutionary Economics and Environmental Policy: Survival of the Greenest. Edward Elgar.

Selected articles As of March 2015 the five most cited articles in Google Scholar by Van den Bergh were: