Rate My Professor Kristof De Witte

Kristof De Witte is a full professor in Education Economics and Political Economy at the Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, where he serves as vice-dean for Research and Impact, program director of the Master in Economic Education, and founding director of the Leuven Economics of Education Research (LEER) center. He holds the chair in Effectiveness and Efficiency of Educational Innovations at United Nations University (UNU-MERIT), Maastricht University, and is a Fellow of the CESifo Network. De Witte obtained his PhD in Economics from Maastricht University in 2009, Master of Advanced Studies in Economics from KU Leuven in 2006, Master in Economics from KU Leuven in 2005 (magna cum laude), Master in Secondary Teacher Training from KU Leuven in 2005 (magna cum laude), and Bachelor in Economics from KU Leuven in 2003 (cum laude). His career at KU Leuven began in 2005 as a research assistant in Public Economics, progressing through lecturer, visiting professor, associate professor in 2014, professor in 2018, and full professor since 2022. He has held positions at Maastricht University, including postdoc, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor until 2018.

De Witte's research specializes in education economics, performance evaluation, political economy, public sector efficiency, school dropout, operations research, and non-parametric production analysis. He has authored over 120 Web of Science publications, including 87 in Q1 journals, 35 in top-10% journals, and 13 in top-5% journals, featured in American Sociological Review, The Economic Journal, Perspectives on Psychological Science, World Development, Educational Research Review, Journal of Urban Economics, European Journal of Operational Research, and Economics of Education Review. Key publications include 'School Outcomes of Children Raised in Same-Sex Families: Evidence from Administrative Panel Data' (American Sociological Review, 2020, with Mazrekaj and Cabus), recipient of the James Coleman Award, European Academy of Sociology Prize, and American Sociological Association Family Section Article of the Year; 'Policy Evaluation and Efficiency: a Systematic Literature Review' (International Transactions in Operational Research, 2022, with Mergoni); and 'Local Governments’ Efficiency: A Systematic Literature Review - Part I' (International Transactions in Operational Research, 2018, with Narbon). With research grants exceeding €11 million, including three Horizon Europe projects, he has supervised 20 PhDs and delivered 19 keynote lectures. His work influences policy via contributions to the European Commission, OECD, Flemish Parliament, and media outlets like CNN and The Washington Post. Awards include the 2021 KU Leuven Pioneer Award (€10,000), 2020 Laureate of the Academy (€10,000), 2021 CELSA Service to Society Award, two dissertation prizes, and eight paper prizes.