Kristof De Witte

photo

Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB)

Naamsestraat 69 - box 3503

3000 Leuven

KU Leuven map

room: 01.04

website

Unit

Belongs to (according to the corporate view):

Functions

Curriculum Vitae

 

orc_idhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-0505-8642

Kristof De Witte is a full professor (gewoon hoogleraar) in Education Economics and Political Economy at the Faculty of Economics and Business at KU Leuven, Belgium, and he holds the chair in ‘Effectiveness and Efficiency of Educational Innovations’ (bijzonder hoogleraar) at United Nations University (UNU-MERIT) at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Kristof De Witte is further a Fellow member of the CESifo Network. At KU Leuven he is program director of the ‘Master in Economic Education’, and the founding member and director of the research group ‘Leuven Economics of Education Research’.


The research interests of Kristof De Witte comprise education economics, performance evaluation, and political economy. Among his more than 120 Web of Science publications, he published 87 papers in Q1-journals from which 35 papers in top-10% journals and 13 papers in top-5% journals. Thanks to a research grant portfolio of more than EUR 11M, he has a strong track record in leading and coordinating large research projects (including 3 Horizon Europe projects). Stimulated by interdisciplinary research funding, his work touches upon multiple disciplines which is reflected in publications in the leading journals from various academic fields, including ‘American Sociological Review’, ‘The Economic Journal’, ‘Perspectives on Psychological Science’, ‘World Development’, ‘Educational Research Review’, ‘Journal of Urban Economics’, ‘European Journal of Operational Research’, ‘Government Information Quarterly’, ‘Economics of Education Review’, and ‘Labour Economics’.


Kristof De Witte shows a deep commitment to public dissemination of his research. To increase societal impact, he is actively disseminating his research output to field journals, policy journals and media. De Witte’s work has been frequently featured (on average more than once per week since 2020) in national and international media including CNN, the New York Post, the Washington Post, La Presse and El Pais. He served as a member of the ‘economics education’ and ‘financial literacy’ curriculum in Flanders. Multiple of his papers have had a documented impact on policy making through invited seminars at and citations by the European Commission, European Parliament, the OECD, the UK Parliament, and the Flemish Parliament. He contributed to the ‘European Commission Expert Group on quality investment in education and training’. He is an associate editor for ‘International Transactions in Operational Research’, and former guest editor in three academic journals.


De Witte is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the ‘2021 Pioneer Award’ of KU Leuven (10,000 euro), the ‘2020 Laureate of the Academy’ award from the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (10,000 euro) and the ‘2021 CELSA Service to Society Award’ (honorific), two international prizes for his doctoral dissertation (Biennial "Edgard Milhaud" Prize of CIRIEC – 10,000 euro; Annual “Hans-Jürgen-Ewers-Prize”– 2,500 euro), eight paper prizes, an award for his undergraduate thesis, and an award at the end of secondary education. De Witte was keynote speaker at 19 academic conferences. Under his supervision, 20 PhD’s were successfully defended. He spent academic visits at, among others, Columbia University, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung and Aston University. His Google Scholar citation page counts more than 9,300 citations, an h-index of 50 and an i10-index of 120, while his ResearchGate Interest Score amounts to 4,000. According to IDEAS (last 10 years publications ranking), he is ranked among the top 5% economists world-wide. 

Personal websites

 

  • Economics of Education
  • Public Sector Efficiency
  • School dropout
  • Operations Research
  • Non-parametric Production
  • Political Economy

Selection of projects

Full projects list in the research portal

Recent publications

  • launch Gambi, L., De Witte, K. (sup.) (2025). Education in Times of Change: Understanding School Outcomes to Inform Evidence-Based Policy.
  • launch Mergoni, A., Emrouznejad, A., De Witte, K. with Emrouznejad, A. (corresp. author) (2025). Fifty years of Data Envelopment Analysis. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, 326 (3), 389-412. doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2024.12.049
  • launch De Cort, W., De Witte, K. with De Cort, W. (corresp. author) (2025). To teach or not to teach? Preferences for working conditions and the alternative career opportunities of pre-service teachers. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION. doi: 10.1080/02619768.2025.2571930
  • launch Tuinsma, T., De Witte, K., Jansky, P., Palansky, M., Titl, V. with Tuinsma, T. (corresp. author) (2025). Effects of corporate transparency on tax avoidance: evidence from country-by-country reporting. INTERNATIONAL TAX AND PUBLIC FINANCE, 32 (5), 1366-1398. doi: 10.1007/s10797-025-09885-w
  • launch Francois, M., De Witte, K. with Francois, M. (corresp. author) (2025). A decade of grade inflation boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic-An empirical analysis of a top European university. BRITISH EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL, 51 (5), 2271-2339. doi: 10.1002/berj.4172
  • launch De Witte, K., de la Torre, E.M., Sicilia, G., Agasisti, T. with De Witte, K. (corresp. author) (2025). The importance of efficiency analysis for improving public services: Editorial to the special issue on "Efficiency and productivity analysis of public services in practice". INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, 32 (5), 2443-2452. doi: 10.1111/itor.70009 openaccessvia repository
  • launch Badunenko, O., Mazrekaj, D., Kumbhakar, S.C., De Witte, K. with De Witte, K. (corresp. author) (2025). The effect of funding for disadvantaged students on academic underachievement. HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS, 12 (1), Art.No. ARTN 1386. doi: 10.1057/s41599-025-05524-1
  • launch Schelfhout, W., Venken, M., Göregen, S., De Witte, K., Smet, M. (2025). De school als aantrekkelijke en kwaliteitsvolle werkplek om leraren te behouden. Tussentijds rapport.
  • launch Widiputera, F., De Witte, K., Groot, W. with Widiputera, F. (corresp. author) (2025). The effect of the dropout and student satisfaction on student success: an instrumental variable quantile regression approach. JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN HIGHER EDUCATION. doi: 10.1108/JARHE-10-2024-0568
  • launch Dipierro, A.R., De Witte, K., Toma, P. with De Witte, K. (corresp. author) (2025). Nonparametric efficiency and artificial intelligence techniques in higher education: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH. doi: 10.1111/itor.70070
All publications Search publication
  • HEM09A Onderwijsonderzoek economie - Voorbereiding masterproef
  • D0Q28A Masterproef Educatieve master in de economie
  • Y05315 Onderwijsonderzoek economie - Voorbereiding masterproef
  • Y05314 Masterproef Educatieve master in de economie
  • HEM08A Masterproef Educatieve master in de economie
  • O0H80A Vakdidactiek economie (campus Kortrijk)
  • O0H79A Vakdidactiek economie (campus Brussel)
  • O0H78A Vakdidactiek economie (campus Antwerpen)
  • D0Q31A Vakdidactiek economie
  • D0Q29A Onderwijsonderzoek economie - Voorbereiding masterproef
  • D0Q49A Vakdidactiek economie
  • HEM05A Onderwijsonderzoek economie (Brussel)
  • Y05335 Onderwijsonderzoek economie (Antwerpen)
  • D0Q21A Ingroeistage economie
  • D0Q20A Initiatiestage economie
  • O0G67A Doorgroeistage economie
  • D0Q48A Onderwijsonderzoek economie (Leuven)
  • O0G70A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Leuven)
  • O0G71A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Leuven)
  • O0H41A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Brussel)
  • O0H40A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Antwerpen)
  • O0H42A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Kortrijk)
  • Organizer of compulsory seminar series for new PhD students and assistants at Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, 2012-…
  • Programmadirecteur: Chairman of Programme Committee (Permanente Onderwijs Commissie) Specifieke Lerarenopleiding Economie / educactieve master in de economie at KU Leuven (teachers training programme in economics) (2015 - )
  • Organization of annual ‘Workshop for economics teachers in secondary education’ (Studiedag Leraren Economie) (2010 - )
  • Editor of dissemination and communication initiative ‘Leuvense Economische Standpunten’ (with Anneleen Forrier) (2022-…)
  • School of Education interfacultaire adviescommissie (KU Leuven internal promotion committee) (2024- )
  • Beco (Beoordelingscommissie): Faculty of Economics and Business Advisory Committee for hiring, tenure and promotion of faculty members (2024- )
  • President of the ‘Fund for Financial Literacy’ by King Baudouin Foundation (2020 - 2024).
  • Vlaamse Brede Heroverweging (Flemish Board Review) - Beleidsdomein Onderwijs en Vorming: Expert in evaluation of education spending (2021). Spending review of Flemish education funding.
  • Member of the ’G53 Financial Literacy and Personal Finance Research Network’ (www.g53network.org)
  • European Commission Expert Group on quality investment in education and training (2021-2022). Providing support to authorities to make the best use of available funds through mutual learning and the exchange of best practices regarding investment in education infrastructure.
  • Nationaal Regieorgaan Onderwijsonderzoek (NRO) - Begeleidingscommissie Onderwijszorgarrangementen (2023-2027).
  • ‘Commissie van Wijzen’ (Commission installed by the Flemish Minister of Education to make proposals on how to improve Flemish compulsory education) (2022-2023).

About me

orc_idhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-0505-8642

Kristof De Witte is a full professor (gewoon hoogleraar) in Education Economics and Political Economy at the Faculty of Economics and Business at KU Leuven, Belgium, and he holds the chair in ‘Effectiveness and Efficiency of Educational Innovations’ (bijzonder hoogleraar) at United Nations University (UNU-MERIT) at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Kristof De Witte is further a Fellow member of the CESifo Network. At KU Leuven he is program director of the ‘Master in Economic Education’, and the founding member and director of the research group ‘Leuven Economics of Education Research’.


The research interests of Kristof De Witte comprise education economics, performance evaluation, and political economy. Among his more than 120 Web of Science publications, he published 87 papers in Q1-journals from which 35 papers in top-10% journals and 13 papers in top-5% journals. Thanks to a research grant portfolio of more than EUR 11M, he has a strong track record in leading and coordinating large research projects (including 3 Horizon Europe projects). Stimulated by interdisciplinary research funding, his work touches upon multiple disciplines which is reflected in publications in the leading journals from various academic fields, including ‘American Sociological Review’, ‘The Economic Journal’, ‘Perspectives on Psychological Science’, ‘World Development’, ‘Educational Research Review’, ‘Journal of Urban Economics’, ‘European Journal of Operational Research’, ‘Government Information Quarterly’, ‘Economics of Education Review’, and ‘Labour Economics’.


Kristof De Witte shows a deep commitment to public dissemination of his research. To increase societal impact, he is actively disseminating his research output to field journals, policy journals and media. De Witte’s work has been frequently featured (on average more than once per week since 2020) in national and international media including CNN, the New York Post, the Washington Post, La Presse and El Pais. He served as a member of the ‘economics education’ and ‘financial literacy’ curriculum in Flanders. Multiple of his papers have had a documented impact on policy making through invited seminars at and citations by the European Commission, European Parliament, the OECD, the UK Parliament, and the Flemish Parliament. He contributed to the ‘European Commission Expert Group on quality investment in education and training’. He is an associate editor for ‘International Transactions in Operational Research’, and former guest editor in three academic journals.


De Witte is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the ‘2021 Pioneer Award’ of KU Leuven (10,000 euro), the ‘2020 Laureate of the Academy’ award from the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (10,000 euro) and the ‘2021 CELSA Service to Society Award’ (honorific), two international prizes for his doctoral dissertation (Biennial "Edgard Milhaud" Prize of CIRIEC – 10,000 euro; Annual “Hans-Jürgen-Ewers-Prize”– 2,500 euro), eight paper prizes, an award for his undergraduate thesis, and an award at the end of secondary education. De Witte was keynote speaker at 19 academic conferences. Under his supervision, 20 PhD’s were successfully defended. He spent academic visits at, among others, Columbia University, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung and Aston University. His Google Scholar citation page counts more than 9,300 citations, an h-index of 50 and an i10-index of 120, while his ResearchGate Interest Score amounts to 4,000. According to IDEAS (last 10 years publications ranking), he is ranked among the top 5% economists world-wide. 

Personal websites

Research topics

  • Economics of Education
  • Public Sector Efficiency
  • School dropout
  • Operations Research
  • Non-parametric Production
  • Political Economy

Projects

Publications

Recent publications

  • launch Gambi, L., De Witte, K. (sup.) (2025). Education in Times of Change: Understanding School Outcomes to Inform Evidence-Based Policy.
  • launch Mergoni, A., Emrouznejad, A., De Witte, K. with Emrouznejad, A. (corresp. author) (2025). Fifty years of Data Envelopment Analysis. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, 326 (3), 389-412. doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2024.12.049
  • launch De Cort, W., De Witte, K. with De Cort, W. (corresp. author) (2025). To teach or not to teach? Preferences for working conditions and the alternative career opportunities of pre-service teachers. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION. doi: 10.1080/02619768.2025.2571930
  • launch Tuinsma, T., De Witte, K., Jansky, P., Palansky, M., Titl, V. with Tuinsma, T. (corresp. author) (2025). Effects of corporate transparency on tax avoidance: evidence from country-by-country reporting. INTERNATIONAL TAX AND PUBLIC FINANCE, 32 (5), 1366-1398. doi: 10.1007/s10797-025-09885-w
  • launch Francois, M., De Witte, K. with Francois, M. (corresp. author) (2025). A decade of grade inflation boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic-An empirical analysis of a top European university. BRITISH EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL, 51 (5), 2271-2339. doi: 10.1002/berj.4172
  • launch De Witte, K., de la Torre, E.M., Sicilia, G., Agasisti, T. with De Witte, K. (corresp. author) (2025). The importance of efficiency analysis for improving public services: Editorial to the special issue on "Efficiency and productivity analysis of public services in practice". INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, 32 (5), 2443-2452. doi: 10.1111/itor.70009 openaccessvia repository
  • launch Badunenko, O., Mazrekaj, D., Kumbhakar, S.C., De Witte, K. with De Witte, K. (corresp. author) (2025). The effect of funding for disadvantaged students on academic underachievement. HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS, 12 (1), Art.No. ARTN 1386. doi: 10.1057/s41599-025-05524-1
  • launch Schelfhout, W., Venken, M., Göregen, S., De Witte, K., Smet, M. (2025). De school als aantrekkelijke en kwaliteitsvolle werkplek om leraren te behouden. Tussentijds rapport.
  • launch Widiputera, F., De Witte, K., Groot, W. with Widiputera, F. (corresp. author) (2025). The effect of the dropout and student satisfaction on student success: an instrumental variable quantile regression approach. JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN HIGHER EDUCATION. doi: 10.1108/JARHE-10-2024-0568
  • launch Dipierro, A.R., De Witte, K., Toma, P. with De Witte, K. (corresp. author) (2025). Nonparametric efficiency and artificial intelligence techniques in higher education: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH. doi: 10.1111/itor.70070
All publications Search publication
  • HEM09A Onderwijsonderzoek economie - Voorbereiding masterproef
  • D0Q28A Masterproef Educatieve master in de economie
  • Y05315 Onderwijsonderzoek economie - Voorbereiding masterproef
  • Y05314 Masterproef Educatieve master in de economie
  • HEM08A Masterproef Educatieve master in de economie
  • O0H80A Vakdidactiek economie (campus Kortrijk)
  • O0H79A Vakdidactiek economie (campus Brussel)
  • O0H78A Vakdidactiek economie (campus Antwerpen)
  • D0Q31A Vakdidactiek economie
  • D0Q29A Onderwijsonderzoek economie - Voorbereiding masterproef
  • D0Q49A Vakdidactiek economie
  • HEM05A Onderwijsonderzoek economie (Brussel)
  • Y05335 Onderwijsonderzoek economie (Antwerpen)
  • D0Q21A Ingroeistage economie
  • D0Q20A Initiatiestage economie
  • O0G67A Doorgroeistage economie
  • D0Q48A Onderwijsonderzoek economie (Leuven)
  • O0G70A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Leuven)
  • O0G71A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Leuven)
  • O0H41A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Brussel)
  • O0H40A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Antwerpen)
  • O0H42A Vakdidactische toepassingen (Kortrijk)
  • Organizer of compulsory seminar series for new PhD students and assistants at Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, 2012-…
  • Programmadirecteur: Chairman of Programme Committee (Permanente Onderwijs Commissie) Specifieke Lerarenopleiding Economie / educactieve master in de economie at KU Leuven (teachers training programme in economics) (2015 - )
  • Organization of annual ‘Workshop for economics teachers in secondary education’ (Studiedag Leraren Economie) (2010 - )
  • Editor of dissemination and communication initiative ‘Leuvense Economische Standpunten’ (with Anneleen Forrier) (2022-…)
  • School of Education interfacultaire adviescommissie (KU Leuven internal promotion committee) (2024- )
  • Beco (Beoordelingscommissie): Faculty of Economics and Business Advisory Committee for hiring, tenure and promotion of faculty members (2024- )
  • President of the ‘Fund for Financial Literacy’ by King Baudouin Foundation (2020 - 2024).
  • Vlaamse Brede Heroverweging (Flemish Board Review) - Beleidsdomein Onderwijs en Vorming: Expert in evaluation of education spending (2021). Spending review of Flemish education funding.
  • Member of the ’G53 Financial Literacy and Personal Finance Research Network’ (www.g53network.org)
  • European Commission Expert Group on quality investment in education and training (2021-2022). Providing support to authorities to make the best use of available funds through mutual learning and the exchange of best practices regarding investment in education infrastructure.
  • Nationaal Regieorgaan Onderwijsonderzoek (NRO) - Begeleidingscommissie Onderwijszorgarrangementen (2023-2027).
  • ‘Commissie van Wijzen’ (Commission installed by the Flemish Minister of Education to make proposals on how to improve Flemish compulsory education) (2022-2023).