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After obtaining his PhD he worked for two years at
Erasmus University Rotterdam. From 1987 to 1993 he was professor of economic and social history at the
VU University Amsterdam. In 1992 he was appointed professor in history at
Utrecht University and since 2009 is faculty professor of economic and social history. In addition, in 2010 (for a period of five years) he was appointed honorary professor as the Maddison Chair at the
University of Groningen. Since 2011 Van Zanden is an honorary professor at the
Stellenbosch University.
He was particularly concerned with the economic history of the Netherlands in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but also with the economic history of Indonesia, with the history of
Rabobank and that of
Royal Dutch Shell.
In 2009, he was president of the organising committee of the fifteenth
World Economic History Congress 2009 in
Utrecht. In 2014 he was awarded the Pierson Penning Prize and in 2016 he became a member of the
Academia Europaea.
Select Publications
Books
Van Zanden has authored and co-authored several books including:
with Maarten Prak: Nederland en het Poldermodel. Sociaal-economische geschiedenis van Nederland 1000-2000, Amsterdam: Bert Bakker, 2013.
with Daan Marks: An Economic History of Indonesia 1800-2010, London: Routledge, 2012 (Translated to Indonesian)
The Long Road to the Industrial Revolution. The European Economy in a Global Perspective, 1000-1800. Leiden, Brill Publishers, 2009.
with Stephen Howarth, Joost Jonker, Keetie Sluyterman: A History of Royal Dutch Shell, 4 delen, Amsterdam, Boom Publishers/Oxford University Press, 2007
with Tine de Moor: Vrouwen en de geboorte van het kapitalisme in West-Europa, Amsterdam, Boom Publishers, 2006.
with A. van Riel: The Strictures of Inheritance. The Dutch Economy in the Nineteenth Century, Princeton University Press, 2004
Nederlandse uitgave: Nederland 1780-1914. Staat, instituties en economische ontwikkeling. Amsterdam, Balans, 2000.
with J.-P. Smits, E. Horlings: Dutch GNP and its Components, 1800-1913, Groningen; Growth and Development Centre, 2000, Online
with Keetie Sluyterman, Joost Dankers, Jos van der Linden: Het Coöperatieve Alternatief. Honderd Jaar Rabobank 1898-1998, Den Haag, 1998.
with Lee Soltow: Income and Wealth Inequality in the Netherlands 1500-1990, Het Spinhuis; Amsterdam, 1998.
The economic history of the Netherlands in the 20th century. Routledge; London, 1997
Nederlandse vertaling: Een klein land in de lange twintigste eeuw. Het Spectrum; Utrecht, 1997.
with Wybren Verstegen: Groene Geschiedenis van Nederland, Utrecht: Het Spectrum, 1993.
Arbeid tijdens het handelskapitalisme. Een nieuwe interpretatie van de opkomst en de achteruitgang van de economie van Holland, 1350-1850. Bergen, 1991.
Engelse vertaling: The Rise and Decline of Holland's economy. Merchant Capitalism and the Labour Market. Manchester University Press, 1993.
with P. Boomgaard: Food crops and arable land, Java 1815-1942, Changing Economy in Indonesia, Band 10, Royal Tropical Institute; Amsterdam, 1990.
with R. T. Griffiths: Economische geschiedenis van Nederland in de twintigste eeuw, Het Spectrum; Utrecht, 1989.
De industrialisatie in Amsterdam 1825-1914, Octavo: Bergen, 1987.
De economische ontwikkeling van de Nederlandse landbouw in de negentiende eeuw, 1800–1914. Wageningen, 1985 (proefschrift)
Engelse uitgave: The Transformation of European Agriculture in the 19th Century: The Case of the Netherlands, VU University Press, 1994.