After obtaining his BSc (2004; cum laude) and MSc (2005; cum laude), both in Sociology, Jeroen van der Waal (1974) has been engaged in in a line of research addressing local labor-market inequalities and their political implications. This was the subject of his PhD thesis (2010; cum laude), which was awarded as the best dissertation in Sociology 2009-2010 by the Dutch Sociological Association. His current research on this subject is aided by a Instituut GAK grant (Jeroen’s research has also been funded by various research other grants in the last five years as outline below – three of which by NWO, including a VENI grant (€ 1,043,000 in total; € 646,500 as principal investigator).