Sybrand Brekelmans
Research Assistant
Sybrand is a Dutch national and a research assistant at Bruegel since September 2019. He holds a Master's Degree in Specialized Economic Analysis in macroeconomic policy and financial markets from the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (BGSE). Prior to that, he completed a BSc in Economics and Mathematics at the University of Utrecht. His research interests include international trade, monetary policy, and empirical techniques such as complexity analysis and macroeconometrics.
Prior to Bruegel, Sybrand has worked at the OECD Development Centre where he was part of the Asia Desk. He was involved in the drafting of the unit's biannual flagship publication: The Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India. He contributed to the publication on topics such as international and regional trade, monetary policy, and infrastructure development policy. Among others, he worked on trade-related issues, focusing on the trade war between the United-States and China and its impact on the Southeast Asian economies.
Sybrand is fluent in Dutch, French, and English and speaks German at a basic level.
Featured work
Job polarisation and the Great Recession
A job polarisation trend has seen relatively more workers in the European Union employed in skilled and unskilled jobs, while mid-skilled jobs have be
Debt relief for Sub-Saharan Africa: what now?
When G20 finance heads meet on 18 July, Europe will again need to lead on the group’s flagship COVID-19 initiative to postpone low-income countries’ d
Artificial intelligence’s great impact on low and middle-skilled jobs
Artificial intelligence and machine learning will significantly transform low-skilled jobs that have not yet been negatively affected by past technolo
Occupational change, artificial intelligence and the geography of EU labour markets
On the potential impact of new technologies, we find that low-skill mid-skill jobs are significantly exposed.
All work
Blog post
03 November 2020
Job polarisation and the Great Recession
A job polarisation trend has seen relatively more workers in the European Union employed in skilled and unskilled jobs, while mid-skilled jobs have be
Blog post
14 July 2020
Debt relief for Sub-Saharan Africa: what now?
When G20 finance heads meet on 18 July, Europe will again need to lead on the group’s flagship COVID-19 initiative to postpone low-income countries’ d
Blog post
29 June 2020
Artificial intelligence’s great impact on low and middle-skilled jobs
Artificial intelligence and machine learning will significantly transform low-skilled jobs that have not yet been negatively affected by past technolo
Working paper
15 June 2020
Occupational change, artificial intelligence and the geography of EU labour markets
On the potential impact of new technologies, we find that low-skill mid-skill jobs are significantly exposed.
Blog post
28 April 2020
The revived centrality of the G20
Much was expected from the meeting of G20 Finance officials earlier this month. In the event the meeting decided on a standstill of the poorest countr
Blog post
14 April 2020
EU trade in medical goods: why self-sufficiency is the wrong approach
As countries are struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, shortages in medical equipment led to EU export controls and war-time like procurement of resp
Blog post
18 March 2020
The case for a derivative market programme
The implementation of a Derivative Market Programme could reaffirm the ECB’s credibility and strong commitment to price stability.
Blog post
19 February 2020
What is fuelling the Dutch house price boom?
Housing prices have been rising fast in the West of the Netherlands in the last five years. However, mortgages outstanding have remained flat, raising
Blog post
11 October 2019
Implications of the Japan – United States Mini Trade Agreement
Details of the US-Japan mini-trade deal are lacking but the agreements’ direct impact on the US and Japanese economies is likely to be minuscule. The