Welcome to CORE !
The Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE) is an interdisciplinary research center of UCLouvain.
Founded in 1966 by Jacques Drèze, CORE is a globally renowned interdisciplinary research centre that brings together experts in operations research, economics, and econometrics.
CORE is a dynamic academic hub comprising more than 20 professors, 35 PhD students, and around ten postdoctoral researchers.
This structure fosters a vibrant and collaborative research environment, encouraging high-level interdisciplinary discussions and benefiting from an extensive international network and regular exchanges with visiting researchers.
CORE follows three objectives. The first one is the development of scientific research in the fields of economics, econometrics, operations research and quantitative and economic geography. The second objective is the training of young researchers at the doctoral and postdoctoral stages of their career. The third objective is the promotion of local and international scientific exchanges and collaborations.
The CORE celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
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2 November 2026Matching Markets and Social Networks Workshop - 26 & 27/11/2026This workshop brings together leading researchers working on matching markets and social networks, covering topics such as market design, school choice, labor market matching, online interactions, and peer selection. It features both theoretical and applied research on how individuals and institutions are matched and how social connections influence economic outcomes. -
16 October 2026From PhD to Professor: Quentin Lété’s journey in energy researchDiscover Quentin Lété’s journey from a PhD in Operations Research at UCLouvain to becoming an Assistant Professor at LIDAM, exploring electricity markets, mathematical optimization, and the value of international research experiences. -
16 October 2026Identity and Policy Design workshop 12 & 13/11/2026Economic decisions are often shaped by social identity, through norms, group membership, or self-image. The study of its implications for behavior is expanding to an increasingly broad set of groups and norms (e.g., gender, race, class, age, caste), and its normative implications are receiving growing attention. In this workshop, we aim to bring together researchers working on theory and empirics, on positive and normative questions alike, to inform better policy design. -
17 September 2026Optimization in the age of AIOur colleague, Yurii Nesterov, was recently awarded the prestigious Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize 2026. To celebrate this event, François Glineur and Geovani Grapiglia are organizing a scientific event entitled "Optimization in the age of AI” that will take place at UCLouvain (Euler building, room A.002) on Friday, October 2nd, from 14:00 to 18:30.
Upcoming CORE Events
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Identity and Policy Design workshop
12 & 13/11/2026 - Foyer Royal - Aula Magna
Please register via this form :Identity and Policy Design workshop
Economic decisions are often shaped by social identity, through norms, group membership, or self-image. The study of its implications for behavior is expanding to an increasingly broad set of groups and norms (e.g., gender, race, class, age, caste), and its normative implications are receiving growing attention. In this workshop, we aim to bring together researchers working on theory and empirics, on positive and normative questions alike, to inform better policy design.
Organisers: Eve Colson -Sihra, François Maniquet, Amma Panin
Program
Day 1, Thursday 12th November
12:30 | Arrival of participants and lunch |
13:45 | Welcome from conference organisers: Francesca Monti, CORE Research Director |
14:00 | Keynote: Nicola Gennaioli (Bocconi University) |
15:00 | Coffee break |
Session: Work and hiring | Chair: Joseph Gomes | |
15:30 | Suanna Oh (Paris School of Economics) |
16:15 | Lore Vandewalle (KU Leuven) |
17:00 | Véronique Gille (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and Université Paris-Dauphine) |
17:45 | End of day 1 |
19:00 | Conference dinner (by invitation) |
Day 2, Friday 13th November
08:30 | Welcome with coffee |
Session: Norms and social pressure | Chair: Benoît Decerf | |
09:00 | Eve Colson-Sihra (The University of Edinburgh) |
09:45 | Max Mueller (Toulouse School of Economics) |
10:30 | Coffee break |
11:00 | Marc Fleurbaey (Paris School of Economics) |
11:45 | Poster pitches |
12:15 | Poster session and walking lunch |
Session: Narratives | Chair: Johannes Johnen | |
14:00 | Mohamed Saleh (The London School of Economics and Political Science) |
14:45 | Karine Moukaddem (UCLouvain) |
15:30 | Coffee break |
Session: Groups and homophily | Chair: Eve Colson-Sihra | |
16:00 | Yann Bramoullé (Aix-Marseille University) |
16:45 | Anujit Chakraborty (University of California, Davis) |
17:30 | Closing drink |
18:15 | End of the conference |
Poster Presenters
- Auguste Debroise, UNamur
- Mathilde Sage, UNamur and UCLouvain
- Justin Mutambeshya, KU Leuven
- Lore Vandewalle, KU Leuven
- Martin Fernandez Sanchez, LISER
- Amma Panin, UCLouvain
- François Maniquet, UCLouvain
- Clarice Manuel, UCLouvain
- Sonia Giurumescu, UCLouvain
LIDAM Econometrics Seminar - Philippe Goulet Coulombe
29/10/2026 - 12:45 - 14:00 - DOYEN 22
Philippe Goulet Coulombe
(Université du Québec)
will give a presentation on
Implied Factors: The Linear Skeleton of Machine Learning Forecasts
Abstract:
For interpretability, sparsity is key and linearity is preferable. Yet neither is common in machine-learning-based macroeconomic forecasting, where large predictor sets are fed into nonlinear, nonparametric models. We show that any supervised learning algorithm whose predictions are linear in the target variable—regardless of nonlinearities in the features—admits a linear-factor representation. We call the resulting components the model’s implied factors. Studying these factors provides a new route to uncover low-dimensional structure, even when the model was not built with such structure in mind. Empirically, two or three implied factors suffice to reproduce out-of-sample forecasts of U.S. GDP, inflation, and unemployment. Across models, the leading direction is common and these factors cluster into a few common signals, while higher-order factors differ by family, so cross-model differences are quantitative rather than conceptual. Used as conditioning controls in local projections, implied factors from a random forest deliver correctly signed inflation responses where standard PCA controls leave the price puzzle intact.
More information about the speaker
Matching Markets and Social Networks
26 & 27/11/2026 - D251 + D249
Louvain-la-Neuve - Room D251 + D249 (entrance via Grand Rue 54)
Thursday 26 of November
To register, please complete the following form: Workshop Matching Markets and Social Networks
| Session | Time | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 12:30 | Lunch | |
| Session 1 | 13:25 | Welcome (Vincent Vannetelbosch) |
| 13:30 | Olivier Tercieux (Paris School of Economics) Dynamic market design in large economies Foundations and Applications to the Design of Dynamic Incentivesjoint with César Barilla (Oxford) et Charlotte Martres (PSE). | |
| 14:10 | Ata Atay (University of Barcelona) Matching with enemies (joint work with Ana Mauleon and Vincent Vannetelbosch). | |
| 14:50 | Jean-Jacques Herings (Tilburg University) Performance Attribution: the Harsanyi Method (joint work with Carlo Acerbi and Peter Csoka). | |
| 15:30 | Coffee break | |
| Session 2 | 16:00 | Peter Biró (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) Haris Aziz, Peter Biro, Gergely Csáji and Tom Demeulemeester: Smart Lotteries in School Choice: Ex-ante Pareto-Improvement with Ex-post Stability |
| 16:40 | Eloisa Campioni (Tor Vergara University of Rome) “Competing mechanisms, private disclosures and the revelation principle” (Joint with Andrea Attar, Thomas Mariotti and Alessandro Pavan) | |
| 17:20 | Alexander Teytelboym (University of Oxford) Random Allocation: A Frisch Approach | |
| 18:00 | End | |
| 19:30 | Social dinner (upon invitation) |
Friday 27 of November
| Session | Time | Program |
|---|---|---|
| Session 3 | 09:30 | Chantal Marlats (Université de Tours) Firms Testing vs Consumer Feedbacks, with Lucie Ménager. |
| 10:10 | Manuel Förster (Bielefeld University) Labor market matching with generative AI: Signaling and firm competition | |
| 10:50 | Coffee break | |
| Session 4 | 11:20 | Dunia Lopez-Pintado (University Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla) The transition to online interactions" (joint work with Marisa Hidalgo and Miguel A. Meléndez) |
| 12:00 | Francis Bloch (Université Paris 1, Paris School of Economics) "Peer selection with friends and enemies" (joint with Bhaskar Dutta and Marcin Dziubinski) | |
| 12:40 | Farewell lunch |
Instruction: The last speaker of each session will chair the session. 35 minutes for presentation plus 5 minutes for questions.
