Nienke Oomes is Head of Global Economics at SEO Amsterdam Economics, and an experienced team leader for international economic research projects and evaluations of international development programmes. She has more than 20 years of experience with researching, evaluating and providing policy advice on economic development projects around the globe, using a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methods.
In the area of international economic research, Nienke and her team conduct research on economic growth, employment, investment climate, international finance, and trade. On the latter, Nienke’s team has developed a global trade model that predicts the economic effects of any changes in trade costs (for example, due to sanctions or changes in trade agreements) on any country in the world. Combining this with input-output modeling, the model generates the direct and indirect effects of such changes on bilateral trade, GDP, employment and value added in each sector of an economy.
In the area of international development evaluation, Nienke has served as team leader and project manager for numerous international projects that deliver technical or financial assistance to entrepreneurs, firms, financial institutions, or governments. She is particularly strong at building monitoring & evaluation (M&E) frameworks and evaluating the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of private sector development and capacity development programmes. Her key clients include the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), the Dutch development bank (FMO), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the African Tax Administration Forum, and other multilateral and bilateral development partners.
Prior to joining SEO, Nienke was Lead Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, where she was responsible for country strategy, economic analysis, and policy evaluation. From 2001-2010, she worked for the IMF in Washington DC, where she led IMF missions, managed country teams, and advised governments in Africa, Europe, and the former Soviet Union on macroeconomic policies and structural reforms in the area of monetary policy, fiscal policy, tax administration and financial sector reform.
Nienke holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) and has published research articles in internationally renowned economics journals on a wide range of topics, including on the Russian economy, the impact of IMF programs, financial sector reform, monetary and exchange rate policy, and the natural resource curse. She is a frequent presenter at seminars, conferences, and policy fora.