The Luxembourg National Research Fund (Fonds National de la Recherche - FNR) has announced the results of their first and second rounds of financing under its novel COVID-19 Fast Track Call. A total of 51 out of the 124 eligible projects were retained for funding, corresponding to an FNR commitment of EUR 2.62 million. Namely, six LISER projects are among those selected, for a total support amounting to over EUR 299,000

The call launched by the FNR for a special FNR COVID-19 funding programme were in the framework of one of the Research Luxembourg Task Force work packages, related to the implementation of new initiatives in the current pandemic context. The COVID-19 Fast Track Call aims to (co-)support short-term research projects on COVID-19, or the starting phase of longer-term ones, in order to accelerate the understanding and treatment of the disease, as well as addressing the legal, socio-economic and infrastructural aspects associated with the pandemic.

The six LISER projects detailed below are led by researchers within the departments of Labour Market, Living Conditions and Urban Development and Mobility as well the Crossing Borders Research Programme and LISER’s Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Economics. Together, they will investigate a wide range of issues impacted by COVID-19’s such as: macroeconomic and distributional effects, teleworking, employment, mobility, health behaviours, inequality, wealth effects and the role the environment could play in COVID-19 transmission.

Project: An Experimental Test of Hospital Admission Guidelines (E.HAG)

Principal investigator: Francesco Fallucchi
Commitment by the FNR: 27k EUR

Abstract: During pandemics, hospital guidelines regulate admissions and treatment in case of congestion. These guidelines prescribe the allocation of beds and intensive care units (ICU) based on trade-offs between different moral principles. Despite being discussed extensively in the medicine and philosophy literature, these trade-offs are rarely discussed in the media, and little is known about the views that citizens have about it. We study how people view these moral trade-offs and whether the prevailing moral principles change with the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic. To do this, we conduct a series of surveys in samples of the U.S. population exploiting the temporal and geographical variation in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project: Digital Upskilling In A Telework Environment (DIGITUP)

Principal investigator: Ludivine Martin
Commitment by the FNR: 37.5k EUR

Abstract: Analyzing, understanding and determining the influence of the current health crisis on teleworkers’ well-being, motivations and productivity and efficiency of online collaborations that keep firms performant is essential to support the workforce for the current and future economic challenges, and turn them into opportunities. Indeed, in parallel with the current COVID-19 health crisis, the labour market is undergoing profound changes linked to the digital transformation, which will increase in the future (i.e. job replacement, new tasks to require digital skills). An increased use of digital tools at the workplace is not yet real for all organizations. While, for many years, the obstacles to voluntary efforts to switch to a generalized use of digital tools where huge (e.g. lack resources, training, incentive in terms of bonuses) the current lockdown has the power to change the situation. Whereas the use of current communication tools such as emails induces drawbacks for workers (e.g. infobesity), the upskilling to use more efficient collaborative tools (e.g. Microsoft Teams or Slack) will be beneficial for both workers and firms. Finally, if the telework period appears beneficial for both workers and firms, after the lockdown, the challenge will be to create a common framework in the Greater-Region to favor it.

Project: Family Response And Well-being Effects Of Covid-19

Principal investigator: Eugenio Peluso
Commitment by the FNR: 73.1k EUR

Abstract: Lockdowns and the economic crisis induced by Covid-19 are imposing unprecedented constraints on families in terms of freedom of choice, consumption opportunities, time use, and social interactions. The “Farewell-to-C19” project focuses on the role of the family as a place that can both buffer and amplify the shockwave. For example, a spouse that already had a higher earnings before the crisis will (in most cases) continue to work more, and absorb less of the increase in the unpaid workload due to childcare, likely amplifying gender-specific sharing rules and inequalities within the household – a factor that has been shown to affect the well-being of its members (Peluso and Trannoy 2007, Couprie et al. 2010). However, compared to singles, the family plays a natural inequality-reducing role due to the insurance possibilities offered by multiple income sources or consumption and time sharing. Looking across households, people most likely to be working from home were already better off, and children of already better-off households suffer less in terms of loss of human capital during the lockdown and are less exposed to material deprivation. To investigate how these interlaced effects will impact Luxemburgish households, the Farewell-to-C19 project will be developed by a team of researchers belonging to the Living Conditions, Labor Market and Urban Development and Mobility Departments of LISER, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow and the AMSE Marseille. This project is organized in three work packages (WP): The first WP compares different types of households to identify how individual preferences can be affected by family ties in the circumstances induced by the Covid-19 crisis. The second WP analyses several effects of the Covid-19 crisis on children conditions. The third WP focuses on preferences towards redistribution, their development within the family, and their transmission to children.