Kène Henkens - Biography#

Professor Henkens (1960) obtained his doctoral degree in sociology at the University of Utrecht in 1989. His Ph. D. thesis dealt with the retirement decisions of older workers in the Netherlands. It earned him a doctorate at the same prestigious university of the Netherlands in 1998. In the same year he started working at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) in the Hague. First as a researcher (1989-1993), then as the coordinator of labour market research (1993-1998) and now is responsible for all research in social demography at the institute.

At the same time several universities sought to add him to their academic staff. He held an endowed chair at Tilburg university during 2009-2012 and from 2012 onwards at the University of Amsterdam. Moreover he now is also attached to the University of Groningen.

During these very busy years he focussed his attention in essence on research questions but later on had to become more involved in managerial and supervisory duties. But ever since obtaining his doctorate he has devoted about 70% of his time to research.

Much of the research dealt with labour force participation, but in such a way that it has thrown new light on the multi-layered contexts of institutions, employers, and households as well as their interactions. In new projects he and his collaborates aim to attempt to incorporate the theoretical concept of life course agency into their explanatory models.

Henkens has been invited frequently by organizations in the area of pensions and labour markets to serve on expert panels or as an advisor.