Heleen Mees

Heleen Mees is an economist, lawyer and columnist. Since 2000 she has been living in New York, where she works as an adviser on European Union affairs. As well as her bi-weekly column in NRC Handelsblad, Mees has published in international newspapers such as The International Herald Tribune, Le Monde, The Financial Times and The Japan Times.

In April 2009 her second book, Between Greed And Desire - The World Between Wall Street And Main Street, was published. It is a collection of the best of Mees’ work on globalization, the financial crisis and life in New York. While greed seems to have a destructive impact on the economy, the desire to build a better life is still the main source of social progress. Mees argues that European welfare states should be transformed into opportunity-based societies like New York.