Researchers and academics across Europe are invited to submit abstracts of recent papers analysing social and labour market impact of rising prices in the EU, with a special focus on vulnerable groups. The selected papers will be presented by (one of) the author(s) during the Social Situation Monitor Research Seminar on 4 October 2022.

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The Social Situation Monitor (SSM) Research Seminars aim to provide a forum to discuss the theoretical, methodological and policy implications of the latest economic and social research. More specifically, SSM Research Seminars aim to inform:

• the economic and social analysis of the European Commission in general, and the Commission’s Employment and Social Developments (ESDE) in Europe review in particular
• the economic and social analysis of the European Commission’s stakeholders
• the economic and social policies of the European Commission and its stakeholders

The Research Seminar will present and discuss recent and ongoing research on the social and labour market impact of rising prices. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has affected already disrupted global supply chains and world energy markets as well as the global food production system. This has led to substantial increases in energy and food prices.

Whereas high costs of fossil fuels may accelerate the green transition, rising prices also put a brake on the economy and could result in subdued production and potentially competitiveness losses. It could also induce negative labour market effects, with varying impacts across sectors and regions and involve risks for vulnerable groups such as a reduction in purchasing power and an increasing chance of (energy) poverty.

Focus and aim of the Research Seminar

SSM Research Seminars are primarily intended for: 

• policy-makers and analysts working in policy-making organisations 
• academic researchers  

The Research Seminar is open to a maximum of 50 participants.

Participants

Researchers and academics across Europe are invited to submit abstracts in relation to their findings based on methods such as econometric analysis, cost-benefit analysis, modelling exercises, and impact evaluations. The methods used should be shortly presented in the abstracts.

The presentations could cover the latest research developments on the impacts of rising prices on social and labour market outcomes, with a special focus on vulnerable groups.

Key questions to be answered

Possible key questions to be answered:

• the impact of high (energy) prices on various segments of the labour market (e.g. distributional effects by region, sector, level of education, occupational groups, in terms of employment and wages)
• the direct impact of high prices on energy, food, housing and other essential goods and inflation on social inequality and poverty, including for lowest income deciles and by type of price increase
• the effectiveness of EU and national policy measures to mitigate the impact of rising prices on vulnerable groups
• the coping strategies to address rising prices and behavioural changes, i.e. switching energy providers or types of energy used, investing in energy efficiency in case of higher energy prices; renting instead of taking out a mortgage in case of increasing housing prices; delaying consumption of non-essential goods or shifting consumption away from goods that have become more expensive

Call for abstracts

Please submit your abstract (2000 characters maximum – including research questions, methodology applied, main results) and biography (1200 characters maximum) electronically by uploading on https://next-ma.eu/landing/SSM-abstracts or by email to ssm@icf.com by 4 September 2022. 

Presented analytical work should preferably be empirical and cover the EU, or be based on methodologies that could be scaled up at EU-level. The methods and data used should be shortly presented in the abstracts. 

Please indicate in the abstract:

• What is the target population/geographic scope? What are the policy implications and relevance outside the geographic scope of analysis (external validity at the EU-27 level)?
• What are the empirical methods?
• What is the underlying evidence? (e.g., survey and sample sizes, date of fieldwork/waves, administrative data and source)
• What are the results of the empirical work? Are results statistically significant?

Abstracts will be reviewed by the SSM team, which includes representatives from the European Commission, ICF Consulting and HIVA. Abstracts will be assessed based on their quality and relevance for the work of the SSM team.

The SSM Research Seminar will take place in Brussels, with face-to-face presentations by the invited speakers. If not possible, i.e. due to sanitary restrictions, online presentations will be possible.

The presentations will follow a blended learning approach (one speaker per paper in case of co-authored papers). During the Research Seminar, speakers will be given the opportunity to respond to questions from the audience and actively participate in the discussion with economists and analysts working in policy-making organisations and their academic peers.