Projets de recherche en cours

La recherche a pour objectifs principaux de s’interroger sur les questionnements suivants : L’Eurométropole fait-il partie des territoires les plus ségrégés de France à l’instar de la Métropole européenne de Lille ? Les migrations franco-belges jouent-elles un rôle dans le renforcement de cette ségrégation et comment ? Quel est le profil des ménages migrants ? Quelles propositions peuvent-être soumises à l’Eurométropole pour enrayer ce phénomène ?

• Responsable : Eggerickx Thierry
• Chercheur : Sanderson Jean-Paul
• Collaboration internationale : L'agence de développement et d'urbanisme de Lille-Métropole
• Financement : L'agence de développement et d'urbanisme de Lille-Métropole

Public engagement has been considered key to sustainable energy transitions and action to tackle climate change, as effective policy strategies require public support and acceptance. However, public perspectives on the challenges of climate change and energy transition still need to be better explored, and effective public engagement should not be taken for granted. Specific socio-political contexts, infrastructures, and practices, among other factors, may condition the acceptance and adoption of changes. In this research, we highlight climate justice and energy justice as well as gender differences as relevant frameworks to understand issues that may arise as forms of resistance to energy transitions and climate policies, as well as to point out that such changes may aggravate forms of inequity, and lack of trust if social costs are not met. We do this by analysing data from the European Social Survey 2018). We focus on two countries: Belgium and Portugal, to investigate how levels of concern about climate change and support for renewable energy relate to gender and to the divide between people with low income, and the more educated and well off. We also discuss the relevance of notions such as «concern» and «worries» used in the European Social Survey which are inspired by psychological models, in particular the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) model (Stern, 2000). ​

• Responsable : Bartiaux Françoise
• Collaborations internationales : Schmidt Luísa, Horta Ana (Université de Lisbonne)
• Chercheuse : Line Vanparys

As societies age, the well-being of the elderly increasingly becomes a priority and challenge. CREW is an inter-disciplinary team from six institutions in five countries poised to examine the interrelationships between social participation (in the forms of paid work and caregiving) and health and wellbeing. Our proposed research covers four broad topics. First, we investigate the determinants of health and wellbeing in older age and critically examine new and old measures. Second, we describe patterns of caregiving and the impact of providing care on the wellbeing of caregivers. Third, we analyze the challenges faced by pension systems as consequence of changes in family dynamics and work patterns. Finally, we examine the population of older adults without close kin, analyse its characteristics, and how the welfare state shapes their well-being. Gender and welfare policies are transversal themes of each topic, as they shape all of the dynamics analyzed. CREW fills key policy-relevant gaps in existing research, ultimately contributing to knowledge which inform policies to guarantee high quality of ageing and equal opportunities for successful ageing for both men and women and for people of different socio-economic groups.

• Responsable : Rizzi Ester
• Chercheurs : Mikucka Malgorzata, Kim Younga
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : Universitat Pompeu Fabra (coordinator), Nederlands Interdisciplinair Demografisch Instituut, Università degli studi di Firenze, Università degli Studi di Padova, University of Western Ontario
• Financement : BELSPO

This research examines different approaches for assessing causality as typically followed in econometrics and proposes a constructive perspective for improving statistical models elaborated in view of causal analysis. Without attempting to be exhaustive, this research examines some of these approaches. Traditional structural modeling is first discussed. A distinction is then drawn between model-based and design-based approaches. Some more recent developments are examined next, namely history-friendly simulation and information-theory based approaches. Finally, structural causal modeling (SCM) is presented, based on the concepts of mechanism and sub-mechanisms, and of recursive decomposition of the joint distribution of variables. This modeling strategy endeavors at representing the structure of the underlying data generating process. It operationalizes the concept of causation through the ordering and role-function of the variables in each of the intelligible sub-mechanisms.

• Responsables : Mouchart Michel (ISBA, UCLouvain), Orsi Renzo (Économie, Bologne), Wunsch Guillaume
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : Département d’économie (UCLouvain), Université de Bologne (Italie)

The overall objectives of ELLIS are to develop tools to a) monitor the extent of socioeconomic differences in environmental burden of disease; and b) assess the impact of policy measures on environmental health inequalities. To achieve this goal, ELLIS will integrate the three dimensions of environmental health inequalities – i.e., socioeconomic deprivation, environmental exposures, and health outcomes. Pairwise integration of these dimensions gives rise to three concepts – i.e., health inequalities, environmental inequalities, and environmental health. Each of these concepts has been well described in national and international literature; however, the integration of all three, leading to environmental health inequalities, has so far received little attention. To increase flexibility and sustainability, the integration of these dimensions will take place at the level of the statistical sector (i.e., the smallest administrative subdivision of Belgium). In addition to monitoring the situation, ELLIS will allow simulating the potential impact of alternative policy scenarios on the extent of and inequalities in environmental burden of disease. Stakeholders will be pro-actively involved in order to identify the most appropriate scenarios and to facilitate knowledge transfer.

• Responsables : Eggerickx Thierry, Masquelier Bruno, Devleesschauwer Brecht (Sciensano), Bouland Catherine (ULB), Faest Christel (UHasselt)
• Chercheurs : Otavova Martina, Sanderson Jean-Paul
• Collaborations nationales : Sciensano, ULB, UHasselt
• Financement : Brain-Be/Belspo

The project aims to promote the exchange of best and innovative practices and improve the quality and efficiency of education in the field of humanitarian action in order to increase professionalization.

• Responsable : Gourbin Catherine
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : NOHA, RedR UK, Aktion Deutschland Hilft, Bioforce, Accion contra el Hambre, Oxford Brooks University, Norges-Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet
• Financement : Erasmus +, Union Européenne

L’objectif du projet est d’identifier le rôle des liens familiaux dans la migration interne, l’immobilité et le marché du travail. Les objectifs sont les suivants : a) identifier le rôle des liens familiaux en tant que facteur dissuasif de la migration et déterminant clé de l’immobilité ; b) expliquer la migration vers les membres non-résidents de la famille ; c) déterminer dans quelle mesure et pour qui les motifs familiaux entraînent la migration ; d) déterminer si la (im)mobilité liée aux liens familiaux a d’autres conséquences sur la carrière professionnelle que la (im)mobilité liée aux autres facteurs. UCLouvain est depuis septembre 2018 le deuxième bénéficiaire de ce projet ERC-Advanced-Grant (2017-2022 ; l’investigatrice principale est Clara H. Mulder, Université de Groningen, Pays-Bas).

• Responsables : Schnor Christine, Mulder Clara H. (Université de Groningen)
• Chercheurs : Schnor Christine, Zuzana Zilicikova
• Collaborations internationales : Université de Groningen, Pays-Bas
• Financement : ERC
• Durée du projet : 09/2018-08/2023

The recent refugee crisis placed migration policy in the forefront of the global policy debate. World economy trends suggest that there may be further episodes of large-scale migration in the future. GLOBMIG is a 48-month interdisciplinary project that aims at developing stronger conceptual tools to better understand and model global migration patterns. It has assembled a team of economists, demographers, lawyers, and computer scientists around three objectives: (i) to gain understanding of the long-run root drivers of international migration and of their complex interactions with the socio-demographic, climatic, institutional and economic environments, (ii) to produce integrated projections of migration, population, and global inequality, and (iii) to use the knowledge base to assess the effectiveness and policy coherence of the legal framework. Despite considerable improvements in the recent literature, little is known about the root drivers of long-run trends in the size and structure of migration, about the interplay between internal and international migrations, or about the effects of policy reforms on migration flows and about their coherence with other policies. GLOBMIG aims at shedding light on these issues. It goes beyond the state of the art in combining traditional and innovative sources of data (e.g., big data on cell-phone owners’ mobility, worldwide opinion surveys on migration intentions, geo-referenced data on population changes, comparative data on immigration laws and policies), and in developing new methodologies for processing and analyzing them (e.g., data mining, machine learning, migration accounting models). The project is divided into two phases and six work packages. In the first «designing phase» of the project, general modelling tools will be developed, the inventory and assessment of migration laws and policies will be produced, and the exploratory analyses of innovative data sources will be conducted. In the second “operational phase” (24 months), we will produce specific knowledge on the links between international migration, internal migration, migration policies, demo-economic changes, climatic factors and conflicts.

• Responsables : Bocquier Philippe, Carlier Jean-Yves (EDEM, UCLouvain), Docquier Frédéric (IRES, UCLouvain), Saroléa Sylvie (EDEM, UCLouvain), Schaus Pierre (ICTM, UCLouvain), Nijssen Siegfried (ICTM, UCLouvain)
• Chercheurs : menashe-Oren Ashira, Aoga John, Bae Juhee, Cunca Erick, Gatta Francesco, Veljanoska Stefanija
• Financement : Action de recherche concertée (ARC)

This research project aims at determining if, in addition to favor gender equity, the paternal leave may be an efficient policy to increase fertility in developed countries experiencing low fertility rates. Grounding on the German case, it will try to answer two precise questions using individual data from the German Panel (G-SOEP): (i) what are the main determinants of the fathers’ decision to take a paternal leave? and (ii) do couples having enjoyed a paternal leave have more chance to get an additional child? Answering these two questions in the German context is quite important as this German case (contrary to the Swedish one) is often cited as evidence against the efficiency of paternal leave. In this project, we propose to shed a new light on this topic by using quantitative longitudinal analysis.

• Responsables : Baudin Thomas, Rizzi Ester
• Chercheur : Dantis Charalampos
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : Institut National d’Études Démographiques, France ; Vienna Institute of Demography
• Financement : F.R.S.-FNRS

Le projet LIMA est un projet pluridisciplinaire (droit, sociologie, démographie) financé dans le cadre des Actions de Recherche Concertées (2015-2020). L’objectif de ce projet est d’examiner comment le cadre légal – belge et européen – influence les trajectoires migratoires, familiales et professionnelles des migrants de pays tiers, et dans quelle mesure ce cadre est compatible avec la réalisation des aspirations des migrants. Il implique également une analyse du cadre juridique européen et belge en matière de regroupement familial, d’accès au marché du travail et de mobilité, et l’analyse des parcours administratifs, professionnels et familiaux de migrants en Belgique. Il repose sur l’exploitation des données du Registre National et de la Banque Carrefour de la Sécurité Sociale et impliquera également la réalisation d’enquêtes quantitatives et qualitatives auprès de migrants d’origine indienne, congolaise et américaine.

• Responsables : Sarolea Sylvie (EDEM, UCLouvain), Schoumaker Bruno, Merla Laura (CIRFASE, UCLouvain), Marquet Jacques (CIRFASE, UCLouvain)
• Chercheurs : Vause Sophie, Carpentier Sarah
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : EDEM (UCLouvain), CIRFASE (UCLouvain)
• Financement : Actions de Recherche Concertées (ARC)
• Site web : www.limauclouvain.eu

L’objectif de la recherche est de dresser les trajectoires socio-spatiales qui conduisent au décrochage socio-économique, ce qui se traduit par une exclusion des registres administratifs. La recherche MEANSIB propose de mieux comprendre tant les phénomènes de sherwoodisation, c’est-à-dire d’exclusion volontaire d’une partie de la population que les conséquences d’une disparition subie des NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Trai-ning) des écrans radars des bases de données administratives. Elle mettra en place des méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives innovantes permettant de discerner les contextes socio-spatiaux de la disparition des individus de ces bases de données. Elle vise également à déterminer un cadre éthique et épistémologique de l’utilisation des données mobilisées pour appréhender les phénomènes de disparition des fichiers informatiques.

• Responsable : Eggerickx Thierry
• Chercheur : Sanderson Jean-Paul
• Collaborations nationales : Centre de Recherches et d’Études pour l’Action Territoriale (CREAT, UCLouvain), Centre METICES (ULB)
• Financement : Région Bruxelles-Capitale (Appel Innoviris)

Following large declines in childhood mortality and progress in lowering mortality from causes of death that affect young adults (e.g., HIV/AIDS), mortality is rapidly shifting to older age groups in low- and lower middle-income countries (LLMICs). We will test a survey method for the measurement of mortality above age 50 in LLMICs, the «parental survival history» (PSH). PSH extends the approach used to generate survey data on mortality in younger age groups, by asking respondents to report the vital status of their biological parents, as well as their age (if alive) or age at death and time since death (if deceased). On average, PSH requires < 2 minutes per respondent to be collected. It can thus readily be integrated into the protocols of major survey programs implemented in LLMICs such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) or the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). We have 3 specific aims: (1) To examine the possibility of sample selection biases in PSH data, using long-term data from HDSS in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Bangladesh and Uganda (2) To evaluate reporting errors in PSH data, using PSH data from > 4,000 respondents in Malawi, Bangladesh and Uganda, (3) to investigate the accuracy and statistical power of mortality estimates based on PSH data using simulations.

• Responsables : Masquelier Bruno, Helleringer Stéphane (NYU)
• Chercheurs : Menashe-Oren Ashira, Schlüter Benjamin
• Collaboration : NYU
• Financement : NIH

Dans une société capitaliste comme la société belge où la consommation dite de masse est un impératif social, que déclarent comme émotions celles et ceux qui ne peuvent participer à cette consommation ? Cette participation se manifeste par des pratiques de consommation (comme partir une semaine en vacances, avoir une alimentation riche en protéines, acheter des vêtements ou des meubles neufs) qui signent l’inclusion dans cette société. Ces pratiques ont-elles le même pouvoir symbolique pour montrer l’adhésion à la société de consommation, quelle que soit la classe sociale ? Le genre marque-t-il une différence ? Comment celles et ceux qui, faute de moyens financiers, ne peuvent se permettre ces pratiques évaluent-ils leurs émotions, en particulier les émotions négatives comme la dépression, la tristesse, la solitude, le sentiment d’échec ou d’exclusion ? Le cadre théorique orientant cette recherche comprend les théories des pratiques sociales, les recherches à la suite des travaux de Bourdieu, et la sociologie des émotions. La méthodologie se base sur une analyse secondaire des données de l’enquête belge du Generation and Gender Programme réalisée en 2009. La première étape constitue à créer une typologie des classes sociales et à y classer chaque individu ayant répondu à l’enquête.

• Responsable : Bartiaux Françoise
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : Burnay Nathalie (UCLouvain et UNamur), Welsch Daniel (University of Manchester)

L’objectif de ce projet est de constituer une «archive belge» des enquêtes et données collectées en sciences humaines. Pratiquement, il s’agit de construire un outil de dépôt des données d’enquêtes réalisées en sciences humaines dans les différentes universités belges de manière à pouvoir les réutiliser pour d’autres projets.

• Responsables : Eggerickx Thierry, Schoumaker Bruno
• Chercheurs : Sanderson Jean-Paul
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : VUB, Archives Générales du Royaume (AGR)
• Financement : BELSPO

Background. Women made great achievements towards gender equality in professional life and gender egalitarian attitudes have widely spread. Nevertheless, women much more than men reduce their work for caring responsibilities. A recent European directive aims to promote gender equality. This attempt contrasts with the prevailing idea that women are mainly responsible for their children’s care. Normative models that oscillate between traditional and modern mother roles are likely to reduce the effectiveness of recent policies and may thwart economic progress. Despite many studies investigating this stalled revolution, a differentiated view on coexistent and potential conflicting motherhood norms remains elusive, since within-country norm plurality has been neglected.
Objectives. This project aims a) to reconstruct normative discourses of good motherhood in their plurality; b) to evaluate whether a common point of reference exists across different social groups and across national contexts c) to understand how norm plurality situate in mothers’ daily life and how they relate to mothers’ employment behavior
Method. We draw on Belgium as an excellent case study; its leave policy combines high levels of flexibility and gender neutrality and may serve as a role model; still, take-up remains gendered. Relying on a multi-method sequential approach, we analyze survey data and conduct focus group discussions to identify normative discourses. Drawing on a most-different cases design, we aim to compare our results in a collaboration project with Austria. Using individual interviews, we study how mothers integrate these normative constructs into their everyday lives. Finally, we estimate how conflicting norms relate to mothers’ employment.
Contribution. By identifying motherhood norms in their plurality, this project will establish a basis for future research on the individual and social consequences of conformity to and deviance from norms.

• Responsable : Chrsitine Schnor
• Chercheurs : Chrsitine Schnor, Laetitia Bideau, Clara Maréchal, Jonathan Dedonder
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : Université de Vienne : Prof. Ulrike Zartler, Dr. Eva-Maria Schmidt & Fabienne Décieux.
• Financement : FNRS (PDR)
• Durée du projet : 01/2022-12/2025

Building upon Judea Pearl’s directed acyclic graphs approach to causality and the tradition of structural modelling in econometrics and social science, the present project examines the issue of control in complex systems with multiple causes and outcomes. It deals first with three-variable saturated and unsaturated models, and then focuses on more complex systems including models with collider or latent confounder discussed by Pearl. The purpose of this project is to develop simple rules for selecting the variables to control for when studying the direct effect of a cause on an outcome or the total effect when dealing with multiple causal paths.

• Responsable : Wunsch Guillaume
• Collaborations nationales et internationales : Moucart Michel (CORE and ISBA, UCLouvain), Russo Federica (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)