This paper develops a normative approach to the measurement of ex-ante inequality of opportunity in a multidimensional setting - that is, when the individual outcome is represented by a multidimensional variable. We characterize three classes of social welfare functions, all endorsing ex-ante...

How did the financial crisis affect population welfare in EU member states in key dimensions such as income, health, and education? We seek to answer this question by way of welfare comparisons between countries and within countries over time, using EU-SILC data. Our study is novel in using a...

This paper develops policy recommendations on the use of cluster-based economic policies and the adoption of a new concept of competitiveness in the context of the new growth path that WWWforEurope aims to outline. A first section discusses summarizes key findings from the previous research...

The decrease in the rule of law and in control of corruption in several EU countries is a threat to the cohesion in the EU. Brexit has reinforced the centrifugal forces in the EU. To counter this threat the EU needs to engage in unpopular measures as they infringe on the Member States'...

Recent studies focused on testing the Easterlin hypothesis (happiness and national income correlate in the cross-section but not over time) on a global level. We make a case for testing the Easterlin hypothesis at the country level where individual panel data allow exploiting important...

This study aims to assess the extent to which the economic integration process of the EU and the Eurozone, expressed by the convergence of GDP per capita, is reflected in the convergence of economic well-being of households, revealed by income and consumption, during the last 20 years...

This study analyses EU-28- and euro area-level income distribution with the latest EU-SILC data. More specifically it shows the evolution of inequality in net disposable and market incomes over the pre- and post-crisis period (2006-2013). I find that inequality between the EU-28 and euro area...

The match between perception and reality can depend on many different elements across societies over time, but subjective and objective dimensions are both relevant particularly in social class analysis. The aim of this paper is to investigate perceived social position and income inequality in...

After having been ignored for a long time by economists, happiness is becoming an object of serious research in 21st century economics. In Section 2 we sketch the present status of happiness economics. In Section 3 we consider the practical applicability of happiness economics, retaining the...

After a decade of strong progress toward the goal of reducing the high levels of income disparities, there are clear signs of a deceleration in the pace of inequality reduction in Latin America. This paper argues that the deceleration is the result of two set of reasons. First, several of the...