The project: addressing Europe’s big challenges
What are the effects of the digital and green transition on the European labour market? How can governments respond adequately to the increased rate of technological change and the internationalisation of the labour force? TransEuroWorkS aims to address these profound questions, touching on Europe’s biggest challenges. Dr. Suari-Andreu: “We look at the winners and the losers of these transformations in the labour market. Then we look at how the welfare state and social policy can mitigate the negative consequences and help smooth these transitions”. For example, digitalisation can create new unemployment and new types of unregulated work, such as platform work: “People who end up in these types of jobs suffer the negative consequences of digitalisation”, adds Dr. Suari-Andreu. Additionally, migrants often end up in jobs that do not pay well or offer little job security. When it comes to the green transition, employees in certain sectors might be negatively affected because of the costs involved: “German car companies are having a lot of difficulties implementing the transition towards an electric car market so this affects the labour force as well”, adds Dr. Suari-Andreu.
The output: feeding policy with evidence-based research
The research outputs of TransEuropeWorkS directly feeds policymakers with evidence based-research. For example, a research paper on the fiscal impact of migrants in Europe informs policymakers with much needed evidence in the heated debate around migration. Eduard Suari-Andreu: “The problem is that this debate is not based on evidence. What is the actual effect of migration on the labour market?” Some of the research results counter existing narratives around migration: “We found that migrants have a fiscal position that is more positive than that of natives – consistently over time and across countries.” The research output has not gone unnoticed with policymakers as some of the papers have been presented at Dutch ministries directly. In Brussels, TransEuropeS’s project partner, CEPS, organised policy events discussing the research outcomes. Researchers that contributed to the project discussed their findings with a policy audience and thereby contributed to EU agenda setting with evidence-based research.
► Project Partners
TransEuroWorkS (Transforming European Work and Social Protection: A New Proactive Welfare State Fit for the Future World of Work) is a large project with ten different institutional partners from nine different countries, and receives 2.6 million euros from Horizon Europe Pillar 2. Pillar 2 is the largest pillar in Horizon Europe and funds collaborative research focusing on global challenges and industrial competitiveness. The consortium of TransEuroWorkS consists of Leiden University, University of Barcelona, University of Copenhagen, King’s College of London, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels , Delft University of Technology, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI) in Bratislava, University of Geneva, the University College of Dublin and the Zabala Innovation Brussels office. The research project is divided into nine work packages. Each work package addresses a different subtheme within the larger research project, such as welfare recalibration, gender equality, or the future of EU social policy coordination. The ten different partners are leading one work package each, while Leiden University coordinates the project. The project started in 2022 and will run until the end of 2026.
The collaboration and impact: united through diversity
TransEuroWorkS proves that collaborative research contributes to European competitiveness. The speed of the digital and green transition will influence Europe’s global position. The necessity of implementing these transitions is therefore evident. However, these transitions will only be successful if policymakers are aware of the social consequences of these transitions. This impact is a result of the collaborative aspect of the research project. Its strength lies in its geographical diversity: “This is the number one clear advantage. It provides a lot of inside knowledge from different countries”, says Dr. Suari-Andreu. The geographical variety is complemented by a multi-disciplinary approach that allows for looking at the challenges from different angles. The various national contexts add a lot as well: “The project wants to understand the effect of these transformations - not only in the Netherlands or in Spain – but in Europe at large. Having researchers from different countries gives us a lot of knowledge about the institutional context of every country”, explains Suari-Andreu.
The Future: the best is yet to come
The flagship initiative of the project will soon take off – next week in fact. A European-wide survey will address the entire scope of the projects. The respondents, thousands of European citizens in 15 different countries, will answer questions related to those big topics: digitalisation, green transition and the internationalisation of the labour market. The survey is run by Ipsos and aims to reach 1500 to 3000 respondents per country. The collaborating partners designed the survey together and is therefore a product of the entire research consortium. This large-scale survey has a real added value and is therefore an integral part of the project, argues Suari-Andreu: “It is a very critical moment for the project: we are now going to generate our own data”. The survey results will lead to new insights, policy recommendations and papers. In addition to the survey, the project also expects to publish more working papers, followed by policy briefs.
What Europe needs
TransEuroWorkS will run until 2026. However, it is of utmost importance that research contributing to Europe’s understanding of digitalisation, the green transition, and the internationalisation of the work force will continue in the future as well. This is the way for society and policymakers to have an informed exchange of views on European approaches to such challenges. Or, as Eduard Suari-Andreu puts it: “I hope that European funding for research can improve this debate”.
Eduard Suari-Andreu is an assistant professor at the Department of Economics of Leiden University. He is a microeconomist conducting theoretical and applied research related to household finance, health, labour market, and migration. He has obtained his PhD in 2018 at the Faculty of Economy and Business of the University of Groningen. His PhD research focused on household finances and intergenerational transfers in the context of ageing of population and pension system reforms. During his PhD, Suari-Andreu was a visiting scholar for six months at the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London. After finishing his PhD, Suari-Andreu was a postdoc at the Department of Economics of Leiden University. Since 2022 he is an assistant professor in that same department.
Context
In the series ‘Highlighted’ (Uitgelicht), Neth-ER casts a light on education and research projects from its members, that are (partly) funded by the European Union and have European applications. Leiden University is a member of the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL).
