Four out of seven research projects selected for funding by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) this month are being led or co-led by researchers from CEU. The combined funding of the projects – all focused on "quantitative data research" in the field of empirical social sciences and life sciences – totals 935,747 euro.
The projects aim to conduct cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on socially relevant issues in Austria using large data sets, with results potentially contributing toward evidence-based policy making. Three of the four projects are CEU-led, and the fourth is co-led by CEU.
The project “Mobility of Workers in the European Union”, granted 237,918 euro by WWTF, will be led by Andrea Weber, a Professor at CEU’s Department of Economics and Business. It involves studying migration between Hungary and Austria, based on a novel dataset which links individual labor market careers in both countries. “This data enables us to answer important questions in migration research, such as: How do workers select into migration? What are the individual gains to migration? How long do migrants stay in the host country and how frequently do they return?” she said.
“Multiscale Network Modelling of Migration Flows in Austria” is a project led by Tiago Peixoto and Marton Karsai from CEU’s Department of Network and Data Science. The project was granted 290,531 euro in WWTF funding, and aims to construct a detailed map of migration flows in Austria for a period of more than two decades. “Using newly available registry data with an unprecedented level of detail, we will employ state-of-the-art data science methods and network modelling to identify the socioeconomic driving factors and consequences of migration, covering a large span of space and time scales.” said Karsai.
“The free movement of people and businesses over time within a country, as well as the in-flow and out-flow of migrants, serve as a kind of vascular system of an economy,” said Peixoto, highlighting the importance of this network and data science research around migration. “Understanding these flows and how they connect with socioeconomic factors would allow us to better understand the impact of policy interventions on the dynamics of social mobility, segregation, urbanization, immigration and a host of other societal factors.”
Alice Kugler, Assistant Professor in CEU’s Department of Economics and Business, will lead the research project, “Parental Leave and Career Trajectories of Men and Women in Austria”, which is focused on the impacts of career interuptions due to parental leave after childbirth. The project was granted 223,465 euro in WWTF funding. “Career interruptions due to parental leave after childbirth are quantitatively the most important drivers of gender pay gaps,” Kugler said. “In this project we use newly available data to investigate how financial and career considerations, as well as social norms, influence parental leave taking, with a particular focus on fathers.”
Kugler will additionally co-lead the project, “Multidimensional Social Mobility and Pathways to Upward Mobility in Austria”, with Franziska Disslbacher from WU Vienna. For the project, CEU received 183,833 euro in WWTF funding. Intergenerational social mobility research clarifies how and the extent to which parental background shapes opportunities and attainments along the lifecycle. “In Austria, comprehensive evidence on intergenerational social mobility and its underlying drivers does not exist,” said Kugler. “The project proposes to fill this gap using newly available register data.”
“CEU is grateful for the continuing support of WWTF, which has already provided crucial seed funding for the development of our successful Cluster of Excellence application, Knowledge in Crisis, led by Professor Tim Crane,” said Zsuzsanna Gabor, CEU’s Vice-President for Academic Cooperation and Research Management. The WWTF supports outstanding scientific research by funding projects that contribute to a better world. Scientific projects are selected according to stringent criteria and competitive procedures.
