Gaaitzen de Vries is associate professor at the Department of Global Economics and Management of the University of Groningen and special term visiting professor of Global Value Chains at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. He is a fellow of FEBRI, the research school of the faculty. He is a UNU WIDER non-residential senior research fellow.
Gaaitzen is a member of the Groningen Growth and Development Centre. His research is on topics related to Structural Transformation and Economic Growth. He (co-) authored articles that appeared in peer-reviewed international journals such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the Journal of Development Economics, the Journal of Economic Geography, the Journal of Regional Science (2x), the IMF Economic Review (2x), and Economic Policy.
Gaaitzen is frequently active as a consultant and advisor for various organizations including the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the OECD.