Matthijs Kalmijn

Matthijs Kalmijn is a full Professor of Sociology at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Spatial Sciences and serves as the theme leader 'Families and Gender' at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1991 and has established himself as a leading scholar in family sociology and social demography. Kalmijn has conducted extensive research on family dynamics, life course transitions, inequality, and migration/ethnicity, coordinating major social surveys including the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS), the Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study (NELLS), and the multi-actor survey Parents and Children in the Netherlands (OKiN).

His research interests focus on family sociology, social demography, inequality, migration/ethnicity, and intergenerational relations. Kalmijn has made significant contributions to understanding complex family structures, divorce consequences, and the dynamics of intergenerational support across the life course. His methodological expertise includes designing and implementing multi-actor survey studies that capture family relationships from multiple perspectives.

Kalmijn's work demonstrates consistent trends in examining how family structures evolve and how these changes affect individual well-being across generations. His recent publications show increasing attention to migration dynamics, retirement patterns, and the intersection of demographic change with cultural institutions. The breadth of his research spans from micro-level family interactions to macro-level demographic patterns across European contexts.

Among his notable scientific achievements, Kalmijn was inaugurated to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW), and the Academia Europaea (The Academy of Europe). These prestigious appointments recognize his significant contributions to demographic and sociological scholarship.

Throughout his career, Kalmijn has advised numerous PhD students across various institutions, particularly focusing on family complexity, migration, retirement, and intergenerational relationships. His research has been supported through multiple substantial projects, including the International Retirement Migration study, the multi-actor OKiN survey, and the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, reflecting his leadership in advancing demographic methodology and family research.