Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Netherlands
fellow
Arjen de Wit
2025-2026
Home institution
VU Amsterdam
Country of origin (home institution)
Netherlands
Discipline(s)
Economy and finance
Psychology, psychiatry and psychoanalysis
Sociology
Theme(s)
Inequalities, inclusion & Social Innovation
Labor, Capital & Innovation
Public Policies
Fellowship dates
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Biography
Arjen is an Instituut Gak Fellow at NIAS during 2025-2026.
Arjen de Wit is an Assistant Professor at the department of Sociology at VU Amsterdam, where he mainly studies social productivity, nonprofit revenues, volunteering, and philanthropy.
A ‘socially productive’ activity can be defined as any contribution of time – either paid or unpaid – that contributes to a social or public good. In his research on social productivity, Arjen studies, amongst others, the effects of volunteering for the well-being of the volunteer, and the value of unpaid activities for people on social assistance benefits. Of particular interest are new forms of social productivity, including online activities and informal helping. This research aims to contribute to public discussions about the value of paid and unpaid work in a post-capitalist society.
Arjen is also involved in a research project on the effects of unrestricted income on the work of charities. While most income from philanthropic funders and governments are earmarked, there is increasing interest among funders to give more flexible funding. By studying the effects of unrestricted funding, this research contributes to actionable knowledge for charities and philanthropic funders on the benefits and downsides of unrestricted funding in different contexts.
Arjen teaches Sociology courses at both the Bachelor and the Master level. While he is trained as a quantitative researcher and has ample experience with analysing longitudinal survey data, Arjen increasingly applies interpretative and computational methods.
Arjen did his PhD at the Center for Philanthropic Studies on the effects of government subsidies on charitable giving to nonprofit organizations, which resulted in the dissertation "Philanthropy in the welfare state: Why charitable donations do not simply substitute government support" (January 2018). A summary of the dissertation (in Dutch) is available here.
As a writer, Arjen performs at festivals and fairs with unique stories on request. See arjendewit.nl (web) and @verhalenopverzoek (Instagram). Together with Margriet Krijtenburg he published the children's book 'The Father of Europe' (Paraiges 2018) in which a Syrian refugee girl travels in time to meet Robert Schuman, the founding father of the European Union. In 2024 he published his novel/chapbook Het meisje met de hoepels.
Research Project
Social productivity: Towards a labour market of doing good
Research question: What is social productivity, how does social productivity affect the worker’s well-being, and how can the welfare state accommodate and reward social productivity?
In most Western societies there is a strong social norm that everyone in the labour population should work, with ‘work’ being an activity that is financially rewarded and has some measurable economic output. This project seeks to address the challenges posed by the social norm of paid work by exploring social productivity (‘maatschappelijke productiviteit’) as an alternative to economic productivity.
While economic productivity is vital for welfare and public expenditures, its over-emphasis has dramatic social and environmental consequences. Social productivity encompasses all activities – paid and unpaid – that contribute to a better society. Recognizing its value would reward unpaid but meaningful work and promote paid work as long as it benefits society.
This is more inclusive, because almost everyone is able to contribute in some way through volunteering, informal helping or paid work. If doing good indeed enhances one’s well-being, a labour market based on social productivity would benefit both workers and society. During the fellowship, Arjen de Wit will write a book discussing the definition of social productivity, its usefulness, and possible applications.
Research Interests:
Social productivity and welfare; unpaid work recognition; labor market alternatives; well-being of volunteers; sustainable economic models