We use data from the European Community Household Panel to investigate the impact of body weight on wages in nine European countries. When we pool the available data across countries and years, we find that a 10% increase in the average body mass index reduces the real earnings of males and...

This report is meant to document the use of the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) to inform the food security situation in countries of interest for DEVCO. Since the GFSI is a composite indicator, a clear understanding of its modelling choices is needed to insure a well-informed use of the...

This methodological report describes the technical specifications of the EU Loneliness Survey. The survey, conducted in November and December 2022, is the first EU-wide survey measuring loneliness through established multi-items scales. It also entails rich socio-demographic information of the...

Increasing inequalities in multiple dimensions have played a role in fostering a feeling of injustice and triggering social dissatisfaction. While fairness is subjective, the far-reaching impact of perceptions of unfairness necessitates a more thorough examination and thoughtful consideration of...

The last two decades have seen a growing concern about rising inequality. In a recent book (2012), Economics Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz argues that rising income inequality is one of the main factors underlying the economic and financial crisis in the United States. Wilkinson and Pickett...

The last two decades have been marked by a growing concern about rising inequality. In a recent book (2012), Joseph Stiglitz, a former Nobel prize winner in Economics argues that rising income inequality is one of the main factors underlying the economic and financial crisis in the United...

In 2009, two epidemiologists, Wilkinson and Pickett, published a book entitled "The Spirit Level, Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better" in which they claim that inequality and its acute perception by the average EU citizen is a toxic element of today's European societies and one that...

A fairness based narrative is tested against existing EU policy objectives as framed in the EU 2020 agenda. We submit that considerations linked to inequity should not be taken as 'correctives' to be applied to an agenda dominated by innovation, competitiveness and growth. Fairness, or better...