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The responsibilities of the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) include increasing awareness and understanding of economic principles in

relation to the quality of life. Furthermore, we are always trying to challenge our students and staff to take responsibility as members

of our community. Part of that approach is to make their achievements visible to the outside world. For that reason we assist the media in

'unlocking' the world of academia. We do so by providing information and expert opinions on economic subjects that both appeal to broad audiences and highlight the importance of

economics to the public. Furthermore we try to involve students actively in our community

activities.

ESE'svisibility

Stimulating and involving students

4 1. Stimulating and involving students

Studying at ESE is more than scientific education; it is a dynamic journey in which students can develop their natural talents. ESE tries to stimulate the students to push themselves to the limit and shows huge appreciation for those who do. In addition, we encourage our students to be involved in one of our study associations, whether as a board member or as a member of a committee. This offers the opportunity to develop skills in organising big events, such as the largest student congress in Europe: The EFR Business Week.

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A. Bachelor Graduation DayThe Erasmus School of Economics organises a festive annual ceremony that commemorates the students’ first academic achievement: the ESE Bachelor Graduation Day. On November 4th, the second annual Bachelor Graduation Day was organised by and for students. More than 150 students, all dressed up in caps and gowns, received their BSc degree in the university’s auditorium. They were surrounded by cheering and applauding family members and friends. The ceremony included a “lecturer of the year” award for ESE’s Faculty.

Keynote speech by Klaus Berning, Porsche AG

Statement by Klaus Berning, Member of the Executive Board of Dr. Ing. H.C.F.

Porsche AG, Germany: “In the first place, everybody is responsible for their own

career path. It is crucial to have a clear vision of where you want to be in 5 years

time. Then pick the right opportunities as they come along.”

Lecturers of the Year awards

Jeffrey Bouwer Economics & Business

Benoit Crutzen IBEB

Jan Brinkhuis Econometrics & Operational Research

René van der Paardt Taxation Economics

Roeland Aernoudts Economics & Informatics

Graduation is the beginning!

Statement by Elaine Rouwet MSc, event coordinator: “Graduating from ESE is the

culmination of all your hard work, it marks a very important point in your life at

which you leave us to make your way into the world.”

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B. Cum Laude Award for Bachelor 1 studentsESE organises the annual Cum Laude Ceremony for ESE Bachelor 1 students, in cooperation with the Trust Foundation of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. This ceremony recognises exceptional students, who finished their BSc1 with a weighted average of 8.25 or higher.

Thirty students awarded with cum laude

This year’s event was held on January 21st. During the ceremony the award was

presented to thirty students. For an impression of the event see the website.

ESE strives to stimulate exceptional students

Statement by Quinten Smit: “It is great to see that your effort hasn't gone unnoticed”.

Statement by Joeri Ooms: “I really enjoyed the appreciation for the performance

in my first year that was shown during the Cum Laude Award. Besides, it was fun

to see who the other invited students were, from both my own study and from

other curricula”.

Statement by Rens van den Broek: "It's an excellent motivation for students when

good results are actually being appreciated and rewarded at ESE. I think this is

something that happens far too little in the Netherlands and so it's very good to

see that the ESE wants to distinguish itself by means of a cum laude award.”

Statement by Cleo Scholte: “Being invited to the Erasmus School of Economics

Cum Laude Award was of course a great honour. ESE, it needs to be said, made it

a true celebration. Having family and friends around me during the event, it was

simply a great experience!”

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Stimulating and involving students

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C. Buddy programme for international studentsIn cooperation with the Economic Faculty Association Rotterdam (EFR) and the Erasmus Student Network (ESN), ESE introduced the so-called “buddy programme” for all new international students. We want to give the new ESE students a positive start to their studies. The buddy programme supports the students, gives them a sense of belonging and lays the foundations of the academic and social community. Each current ESE student can qualify to be the buddy of a new arriving international student and receives specific training for the task.

Helping new international students to feel at home

ESE receives some 300 new international students every September. It is up to our

current students to help their new fellow students to feel at home at Erasmus

University Rotterdam. The student buddies show them around campus and

Rotterdam in general, and help them to make connections with other students.

What is a buddy’s job?

The buddy’s job is to:

1. Introduce the new students to the University and student life;

2. Encourage the new students to get to know each other;

3. Take the buddy groups on a guided tour around campus and participate

in different activities with them during the first few weeks of their arrival.

Testimonial from a student who became a buddy this year

Laurens Schiebroek, iBuddy

"I like the concept of the iBuddy Programme. What makes the programme a bit

complex is that some first year IBEB students might be approached, who are not

in need of assistance. Overall, it is an effective tool for welcoming students from

another country. "

He Jing, IBEB-1 student from China

"I think the iBuddy program is a really nice programme for the international

students. I believe that most of the first-year international students benefit from

it. My iBuddy gave me the useful information about the university when you

were not familiar with the university. In addition, my iBuddy introduced me to

the student life. It makes sense, especially becouse the education system is totally

different from education in my country. And he has introduced a lot of Dutch

culture and traditions to me, this is helpful to integrate into my new life."

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D. EFR-Business WeekThe EFR-Business Week is one of the most professional and prestigious student-organised conferences in Europe. The EFR-Business Week takes place around April each year at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and other locations around the Netherlands and Europe. The main strength of the EFR-Business Week is the integration of theory and practice by means of making contact between students and inspiring individuals of their future working environment. Organised by a committee of six students from EFR (Economic Faculty Association Rotterdam), the EFR-Business Week continues to bring in the most prominent global citizens. Internationally renowned speakers from the worlds of business, politics and science discuss issues around a central theme.

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Fifth lustrum of the EFR-Business Week: Power

This year, the EFR-Business Week celebrated its 25th anniversary. The theme of

2009 was ‘power’. Many renowned speakers attended, including Josef Ackermann,

CEO of Deutsche Bank, Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, Jean-

Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg and Peter van Uhm, Chief of the

Netherlands Defence Staff.

Wouter Tom, President EFR-Business Week 2009

Statement by Wouter Tom: “As chairman of the EFR-Business Week 2009, I

can honestly say that I am proud at my fellow committee members. They truly

succeeded in organising a great Business Week. Essentially, I would like to thank

the Business Week Committee, the Board and all other people which were

involved with the organisation of the 25th EFR-Business Week, for this fantastic

experience.”

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E. Our students of today are the leaders of tomorrowThe Erasmus School of Economics offers its best-performing and most committed students the opportunity to participate in so-called Honours and Master Classes. The programmes are designed to provide extra challenges in addition to the regular curriculum. In developing the programmes, ESE cooperates with the cream of the business community and the non-profit sector.

Bachelor Honours Class gives extra challenge

The goal of this programme is to extend economic knowledge and to increase

academic skills. Participating students follow intense and interactive guest

lectures by experts in the fields of science, business and politics concerning

various current economic issues. In the last block of the academic year the

Honours Class students each write a paper on a socially-relevant economics topic

of their choice. On June 4th, ESE Bachelor Honours Class organised its annual

closing congress, where students presented their scientific papers. The three best

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writers were awarded a prize offered by the Society Trust Foundation of Erasmus

University Rotterdam. Ference Lamp (CFO of SNS Reaal and former managing

director of Lehman Brothers) was keynote speaker and discussed the current

economic crisis.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Honours Master for those who want to excel

In 2009, the second edition of the PwC Honours Master in Accounting, Auditing &

Control began. This Honours Master offers a perfect mix of tailor-made education

combined with internships and international work experience. The programme

is developed in close cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers and includes

significant interaction with the business community through guest speakers,

projects with practitioners, business games, drinks, and internship opportunities.

New Actuarial Sciences Master Class powered by Allianz

This year, the Actuarial Sciences Master Class, powered by Allianz, began. The

Master Class presents important aspects of the actuarial profession, combining

theory with practice. A maximum of six students who distinguish themselves

by outstanding participation during the course will be offered a personal

development assessment facilitated by the “Allianz Nederland Groep”. The

assessment may be combined with an internship on either a small project or the

complete Master’s thesis.

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Highlighting ESE

12 2. Highlighting ESE

The Erasmus School of Economics is recognised as a top class institute in both national and international rankings. Our Faculty possesses a huge amount of expertise on a wide range of subjects. ESE sees it as its duty to share this expertise with government, business and society in general. Members of society can be a highly informed source of research data and provide invaluable assistance in testing our theories. Furthermore, the independent opinion of our scientists is seen as very valuable by national and international media. Our Faculty is quoted in news programmes and in newspapers on a weekly basis.

A. ESE in political and social debateUniversities need to nurture a debate culture. Bearing this in mind, a few years ago ESE started the EconomieOpinie website (www.economieopinie.nl), an opinion platform that incorporates newsworthy articles and contemporary views on economic issues in the Netherlands and abroad. Articles are written by ESE economists and always relate to current issues. In this manner, ESE provides a scientifically substantiated contribution to the political and social debate. Economic issues discussed in this platform are frequently mentioned in the press and Faculty is asked to elaborate on its opinion.

We understand the ins and outs of economics

Statement from the Dean: “Everybody has his or her own opinion, but well-

founded and science-based opinions are rare. Here in Rotterdam, we understand

the ins and outs of the economy and we write about them in great detail.”

In 2009, the second printed edition of EconomieOpinie.nl was published. The book

contains twenty-four contributions selected during the 2008-2009 academic year.

Statement from Ronald de Groot, Editor-in-Chief: “Through EconomieOpinie.nl,

our School is able to generate significant publicity in social and political debates”.

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Who profits from the flu pandemic?

On September 24th the Influenza H1N1 virus was the theme of the monthly

discussion evening “De Kwestie Live”. Virologist Professor Ab Osterhaus (Erasmus

MC), Professor Stefan Stremersch (Professor of Marketing at ESE) and Winfred

Schop (GGD Rotterdam Rijnmond) debated on the topic of public communication

regarding the treatment of a pandemic. Professor Stremersch believes that it is the

pharmaceutical industry that benefits from the flu pandemic. In his opinion the

huge profits, however, are justified by the tremendous investment risks.

Various opinions and debates concerning issues such as the financial crisis, Dutch

pension system and Icesave.

The Faculty of the ESE is always available to share its knowledge and opinions

with broader society. As part of this approach, Faculty provides numerous expert

opinions, comments and analysis on a broad range of subjects.

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More than 100 appearances in the media!

In 2009, our Faculty made more than 100 media appearances. The financial crisis

in particular led to a number of hot topics, such as rescue plans for banks, negative

economic growth and the development of pension markets. Our scientific staff

was often invited as a key speaker in TV-shows as “EénVandaag” and ‘RTLZ’.

Economics is real cool stuff

On November 6th, Erasmus University Rotterdam celebrated its 96th birthday. This

year’s focus was on the Erasmus School of Economics, the oldest School (founded

1913). Therefore it was our Dean, Philip Hans Franses, who addressed the audience

with his keynote speech: “Progress in Economics: a tour by Seven-League Boots”.

His opinion: “Progress in our science is usually boosted by outside input. So even

though economics is mono-disciplinary, it takes the best from other disciplines to

grow and mature. So: Economics is real cool stuff! “

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B. ESE in the mediaThrough positive, accurate and timely media relations activities, the Erasmus School of Economics strives to increase the School’s visibility throughout the EUR, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and worldwide. The Faculty of the ESE is available to give interviews and for other media requests. Our website “ESE in de media” aims to present our scientific staff in media appearances and with quotes to a broad audience. An executive overview of highlights on television, radio and printed media can be found there.

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Enhancing the quality of the philanthropic sector in Europe

On September 23rd the Erasmus Centre for Strategic Philanthropy (ECSP) held its

opening conference at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. There were six speakers

at the conference and an audience of around 170 people from the academic and

philanthropic sector in the Netherlands and Europe. The goal of the conference

was to put the Centre on the map, discuss what strategic philanthropy is about

and what the Centre will focus on.

The current and future position of pension funds

Financial markets and pensions have been under huge pressure since the start

of the credit crisis. Most pension funds were obliged to provide supervisors with

recovery plans. This has led to increasing interest from governments, supervisors,

labour unions and employers. The tension between generations is playing an

important role in recent debates, but also the tension between employers and

employees, and between high and low income groups.

Experiments in organisations

Managers in organisations have the challenging tasks of recruiting, motivating,

retaining, and firing employees. How to do this in the most efficient way is not

always clear. Experimental economics offers insights into how people respond to

management tools such as delegation, teamwork, feedback, and several types

of incentive pay. This conference brought together economists and other social

scientists doing field or lab experiments in the areas of organisational or personnel

economics. They were able to present and discuss work in progress.

C. ESE in connection with academia and practitionersESE Conferences connect the expertise of the Erasmus School of Economics with the expertise of policymakers, professionals, representatives from the business sector, students, the media, and other interested parties. It is a series of dynamic conferences focused on quality, substance and on creating a bridge between the academia and society. The one-day conferences are a highly entertaining mix of lectures, interactive discussions and debates on fascinating topics. Information and appealing presentation go hand in hand, in keeping with the conferences’ aim of reaching a wider audience.

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Programme of the Dies Natalis

After the dies lecture delivered by the Rector Magnificus Henk Schmidt, Dean

Philip Hans Franses gave a key note speech. The speeches were followed by the

Honorary award ceremony.

Honorary Degree Laureate for the 2002 Nobel Prize Winner

Professor Daniel Kahneman

Nobel Prize Winner 2002, Daniel Kahneman, mainly known for his pioneering

work on the interface of psychology and economics, received an honorary degree

laureate. His article on Prospect Theory (1979) is a landmark work - the second-

most-cited article in economics ever! - in which the assumption of rationality of

economic agents is challenged. The “homo economicus” no longer exists.

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D. Dies Natalis and Honorary Degree LaureateOn November 6th, Erasmus University Rotterdam celebrated its 96th birthday. This year’s focus was on the Erasmus School of Economics, the oldest School of our University.

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E. Inaugural addressesThe inauguration of a new professor is an important symbolic event in the life of a university and of course in that of the professor him/herself. The inaugural address can be used to present the outcomes of a study and its relevance to peers, media, business, family and friends.

The Structure and Level of Executive Pay

Many features of executive compensation, like high and increasing pay packages,

large option holdings, and generous severance pay, are often cited as proof that

current compensation practice is deeply flawed. In his inaugural address, professor

Ingolf Dittmann concluded that the government should not restrict executive pay

or any of its components. Instead, the government must force firms to disclose the

compensation packages of its top executives in detail so that shareholders have

enough information to intervene if that is necessary.

The Information Metamorphosis in Econometrics

Life in the 21st century is perhaps best characterised by the information we leave

behind us. Not only do we have access to ever larger amounts of information, but

we can also monitor and observe more processes than ever before, capturing large

quantities of data. The ubiquitous availbility of information brings new challenges

to both business and society. In his inaugural address on March 6th, Professor Uzay

Kaymak considered some of these challenges and discussed how the interaction

between economics and other disciplines can provide new approaches to address

these new challenges.

'Pension Markets in Exciting Times'

On April 17th, Professor Fieke van der Lecq accepted the “Pension Markets” Chair

at the Erasmus School of Economics with the inaugural address “Pension Markets

in Exciting Times”. The Chair is supported by Dutch financial service provider

Cordares. Cordares supports research into the advantages and limitations of the

market mechanism in the pension sector, in the expectation that this will have a

positive effect on the functioning of the whole sector. In combination with actual

business practice, research should demonstrate how market mechanisms can have

a positive effect on the pension sector as well as how negative effects can be

avoided.

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Incentives and Workers' Motivation

In this inaugural address on October 8th, Professor Robert Dur focussed on

personnel policies in public sector organisations in the Netherlands. As compared to

business, organisations in the public sector make far less use of pay-for-performance

systems, tolerate employees' underperformance to a much larger extent, and have

less-inspiring managers. Economic theory predicts that such personnel policies fail

to attract the economy's best and brightest employees. While many employees

in the Dutch public sector turn out to be very much intrinsically motivated, this

does not necessarily call for weak incentives. Indeed, incentives and motivation

may as well be substitutes and complements. The available evidence points in the

latter direction and calls for a drastic change in personnel policies, preferably to be

implemented gradually, so that more can be learned about their effects.

The effectiveness of energy covenants

Professor Elbert Dijkgraaf held his inaugural lecture on October 13th, on the

effectiveness of energy covenants. Professor Dijkgraaf based his lecture on the

analysis of yearly data from twenty-four OECD countries to investigate the

relationship between the use of covenants and energy efficiency, carbon dioxide

emissions and the use of renewable energy. As taxes, subsidies and rules are also

included in the analysis, the study provides evidence of the relative effectiveness

of covenants as well. It shows that there is very little statistical evidence for the

effectiveness of covenants. When the covenants are separated into different

classes according to design, it shows that even the covenants that are the most

strict are not effective. There is, however, much evidence for the effectiveness of

taxes and moderate evidence for the effectiveness of subsidies and rules.

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ESE's inspiration

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ESE's ambitions

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ESE's today

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ESE's visibility

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ESE's road to 2013

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The digital version of our annual report can be found

on our website: www.ese.eur.nl/annual_report. Here

you can find more information on several subjects as

well as photo impressions and film clips. Additional

information, photo impressions and film clips are

indicated by .

ESE's ambitions

ESE's inspiration

ESE's visibilityESE's today

ESE's road to 2013

Annualreport 2009

P.O. Box 1738 | NL-3000 DR Rotterdam | T +31 (010) 408 13 70 | F +31 (010) 408 91 45 | E info@ese.eur.nl