Addressing poverty remains a top priority in global and national agendas.  At the international level, the United Nations and the European Union have set ambitious poverty reduction targets to be achieved by 2030. In Luxembourg, combating poverty is a central pillar of the current government’s programme.  At the same time, economic insecurity is on the rise. Digitalisation, climate change, demographic changes, pandemics or armed conflicts, among other factors, are reshaping our world and fueling growing uncertainty about the future. In this context, vulnerable individuals are particularly exposed to the turbulence of our times.

Research in this area seeks to improve the measurement of these inherently multidimensional phenomena, while also analysing their causes and consequences. A key focus is the impact evaluation of policies, particularly those aimed at low-skilled or low-income individuals such as minimum income schemes. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the factors driving social inclusion and cohesion, both in the short and long term, while also assessing the role, effectiveness, and sustainability of social policies.

Research in this field is interdisciplinary in nature and characterised by the use of ex-ante (microsimulation) and ex-post (quasi-experimental design) policy evaluation methods, as well as qualitative methods.