Dirk Jacob "Dik" Wolfson (22 June 1933 – 16 March 2025) was a Dutch economist, civil servant and politician who worked at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and the Dutch

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

. Academically, Wolfson also served two stints as professor at the

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian. Erasmus M ...

(1975–1986 and 1993–1998) and was rector of the

International Institute of Social Studies The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam is an independent international graduate school of policy-oriented social science. ISS was established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Netherlands Mini ...

from 1986 to 1990. Wolfson was an influential member of the

Scientific Council for Government Policy The Scientific Council for Government Policy ( Dutch: Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid, WRR) is an independent think tank of the Government of the Netherlands based in The Hague, whose members include prominent social scientists, e ...

and the

Social and Economic Council The Social and Economic Council (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Sociaal-Economische Raad'', SER) is a major economic advisory council to the cabinet of the Netherlands. Formally it heads a Publiekrechtelijke Bedrijfsorganisatie, system of sector-based ...

in the 1990s on which he served eight and 14 years respectively. He was a member of the

Senate of the Netherlands The Senate ( , literally "First Chamber of the States General", or simply ; sometimes ) is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected on lists by the members of the twelve States-Provi ...

for the Labour Party between 1999 and 2003.

Early life

Wolfson was born on 22 June 1933 in

Voorburg Voorburg () is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with the town Leidschendam and the village Stompwijk, it merged into the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg in 2002. Sit ...

. His father was a minister. His mother died in January 1945, when he was 11 years old. Wolfson grew up in

Westerlee, Groningen Westerlee is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Oldambt, about 3 km west of the city of Winschoten. Westerlee was a separate municipality until 1821, when it was merged with Scheemda. Histor ...

. Wolfson obtained his PhD with a thesis on public finance in developing countries.

Career

Wolfson started his career at the

(IMF) in Washington. During his time at the IMF, he became acquainted with Labour Party member

Wim Duisenberg Willem Frederik "Wim" Duisenberg (; 9 July 1935 – 31 July 2005) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as President of the European Central Bank from 1 June 1998 until 31 October 2003. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA). Du ...

. In the 1960s, he worked as the IMF's permanent representative in Liberia. Between 1970 and 1973, he was deputy director of domestic money affairs of the

of the Netherlands. He then served as director of economic policy between 1973 and 1975. In 1973, Wim Duisenberg, as finance minister, wanted to send a 100-

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...

cheque A cheque (or check in American English) is a document that orders a bank, building society, or credit union, to pay a specific amount of money from a person's account to the person in whose name the cheque has been issued. The person writing ...

to every citizen; Wolfson, as one of his financial aides, rejected the plan as too costly. From 1975 to 1986, Wolfson was professor of public finance at

. In 1986, Wolfson became rector of the

(ISS) in the Hague. He was elected a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 1989. He served as rector of ISS until 1990 as hearing problems forced him to give up the position and he was succeeded by Geertje Lycklama à Nijeholt. From 1 April 1990 until 1998, he was a member of the

(WRR). Wolfson was also crown member at the

(SER) for a total of 14 years. In 1985, he argued in the SER for an enlarged

employment-to-population ratio Employment-to-population ratio, also called the employment rate, is a statistical ratio that measures the proportion of a country's working age population (statistics are often given for ages 15 to 64) that is employed. This includes people that ...

, but first had to explain the concept to the others. In 1991, he advised on sobering the . The advice was based on the work of the troika consisting of Wolfson,

Gerrit Zalm Gerrit Zalm (; born 6 May 1952) is a retired Dutch people, Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman. Zalm studied Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, obtaining a Master of Economics degree ...

and Ad Kolnaar. In early 1994, he and Zalm were influential in the lead up to the formation of

Wim Kok Willem Kok (; 29 September 1938 – 20 October 2018) was a Dutch politician and trade union leader who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 August 1994 until 22 July 2002.first cabinet. Both men argued for reforms of the organisation of social security. As members of the WRR, they were in a position to provide unsolicited advice to the government. In May 1994, a group under Wolfson published a report which argued for limited market mechanism in social security and privatization of the implementing organizations. The parties discussing the formation with Kok used the report and it became an essential source for the government program. Wolfson also returned to the Erasmus University Rotterdam as a part-time professor of economics between 1993 and 1998. Wolfson in 2003 pleaded for a "transaction state", as opposed to a primarily caring welfare state. In 2005 he concluded that cultural factors were making it hard to reach the desired state.

Political career

In 1991, discussion was ongoing within the Labour Party, of which Wolfson was a member, regarding the cabinet plans of budget cuts to social security. When Wolfson was asked to explain the plans to party members in De Rode Hoed, he faced a critical audience and delivered a fire-and-brimstone sermon. As member of the Labour Party he was part of its economic think tank and led a party commission on the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

. The report which followed in 1992 was largely the same as the 1991 SER publication, which was exactly as Wolfson had intended. Wolfson was a member of the

for the Labour Party between 8 June 1999 and 10 June 2003. In the Senate he dealt with financial and social affairs, defence, higher education and transport and water management. According to Wolfson himself, for over 15 years, he struggled with Jan Blokker's concept: am I left enough?

Death

Wolfson died on 16 March 2025, aged 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfson, Dik 1933 births 2025 deaths 20th-century Dutch civil servants Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Scientific Council for Government Policy Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the Social and Economic Council People from Voorburg