Welcome to IRES!
IRES is a research centre in economics of the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain). The research centre was founded in 1928. With the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE), the Institut de Statistique, Biostatistique et Sciences Actuarielles (ISBA) and Louvain Finance (LFIN) and the platform Support en Méthodologie et Calcul Statistique (SMCS), IRES now belongs to the Louvain Institute of Data Analysis and Modeling in economics and statistics (LIDAM).
Upcoming Events at IRES
IRES Lunch Seminar - Marion Richard
20 May | 12:45 | Dupriez D. 144
Marion Richard
(NovaSBE)
will give a presentation on
Mass media and fertility: evidence from a population-control program
Abstract
This paper examines the long-run impact of a national-scale family planning radio campaign on fertility outcomes in Malawi. Leveraging quasi-random variation in radio coverage driven by topography and a sharp shift in content policy by the state-owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) starting in 1995, we assess the causal effect of radio exposure on reproductive behaviour. We combine detailed signal propagation models with geo-referenced fertility data from three waves of Demographic and Health Surveys and the national census. We find that greater exposure to family planning radio programming significantly reduced fertility, primarily by shifting fertility preferences and increasing contraceptive use, rather than through improved knowledge. The results highlight the role mass media have played in accelerating fertility transitions in low-income settings by targeting social norms.
About the speaker
Marion Richard is postdoctoral researcher at NovaSBE and IC Migration fellow. Her current work focuses on conflict, climate change, gender norms and colonial policies as determinants and barriers to migration in developing countries.
Leuven - Louvain Trade Workshop - Serena Chellini
21 May | 15:30 | Online
Serena Chellini
(KU Leuven)
will give a presentation on
How do environmental measures impact firms’ trade?
joint with Hylke Vandenbussche
About the speaker
Serena Chellini is PhD candidate at the Department of Economics at KU Leuven. Her research interests are international trade and environmental economics.
Practical information
We invite graduate students and faculty with an interest in international trade to participate, and to sign up for our mailing list.
For further information on how to attend, you can contact: serena.chellini@kuleuven.be or c.depierpont@uclouvain.be
UCLouvain Economic Seminar - Enrico Spolaore
22 May | 12:45 | Doyen 22
Enrico Spolaore
(Tufts University)
will give a presentation on
Cultural Remittances and Modern Fertility
Abstract
We argue that migrants played a significant role in the diffusion of the demographic transition from France to the rest of Europe in the late 19th century. Employing novel data on French immigration from other European regions from 1850 to 1930, we find that higher immigration to France translated into lower fertility in the region of origin after a few decades - both in cross-region regressions for various periods, and in a panel setting with region fixed-effects. These results are robust to the inclusion of a variety of controls, and across multiple specifications. We also find that immigrants who themselves became French citizens achieved lower fertility, particularly those who moved to French regions with the lowest fertility levels. We interpret these findings in terms of cultural remittances, consistently with insights from a theoretical framework where migrants act as vectors of cultural diffusion, spreading new information, social norms and preferences pertaining to modern fertility to their regions of origin.
About the speaker
Enrico Spolaore is Seth Merrin Professor of Economics at Tufts University and a Research Associate with the NBER. He does research in political economy, growth and development, and international economics
PhD Lecture Series - Kate Rich- Volker Schoer
May 30 - June 2, 2025 | 14:00 | More 54
PhD LECTURE SERIES
Innovative Approaches in Development Economics: Methods and Applications
Health & Education
Kate Rich and Volker Schoer (Wits University,Johannesburg)
Session 1
Friday, May 30, 14:00 - 17:00
The Friday lecture (2-5 PM) will consist of an overview of the WITS professors' respective research areas, with K. Rich focusing on health and V. Schoer on education, framed within the context of South Africa’s deep and persistent inequality. This session will explore how the academic community has responded to aspects of South Africa’s health and education crises, offering both insights and a critical reflection on the effectiveness of these responses.
Session 2
Monday, June 2, 14:00 - 17:00
Building on this foundation, the second Monday session (2-5 PM) will be more interactive and centred on how researchers can contribute to evidence-based policymaking. K. Rich and V. Schoer will discuss the different types of policy-relevant research and the challenges associated with engaging policymakers. PhD students will be invited to present and reflect on their own research: how it might inform policy, the potential relevance of their findings, and the obstacles they foresee in such engagements. Even for those whose current work is not directly aimed at policy influence, this session aims to support longer-term thinking about how to engage meaningfully with policy in the future.
Participation is free but registration is mandatory.
For more information, please contact Prof. Vincent Vandenberghe
CEPR Workshop on "Ethnicity, identity and conflict"
Joint with IDnomics and UCLouvain, Belgium
Organisers
- Klaus Desmet (SMU, NBER, CEPR)
- Joseph F. Gomes (UCLouvain and CEPR)
Programme
Day 1 - 23 June 2025
9:00 - 9:15
Klaus /Joseph - Welcome address
9:15 - 9:55
Elias Papaioannou – (Invited Session)
Uprootedness, Human Capital and Skill Portability
(Co-authors: Stelios Michalopoulos, Elie Murard and Seyhun Orcan Sakalli)
9:55 - 10:35
Sam Asher
Cultural Capital and Economic Opportunity in Rural India
(Co-authors: Aditi Bhowmick, Maurizio Bussolo, Vidisha Mehta, Paul Novosad)
10:35 - 11:05
Coffee Break
11:05 - 11:45
Monica Beeder
Effects of Jobs on Ethnic Switching – Evidence from a Field Experiment in Ethiopia
(Co-authors: Lovise Aalen, Andreas Kotsadam, Espen Villanger)
11:45 - 12:25
Netanel Ben-Porath
Imagined Communities? Print Media and Identity in the Age of Nation-State Formation
(Co-authors: W. Walker Hanlon)
12:25 - 13:50
Lunch
13:50 - 14:30
Tanushree Goyal
Increasing Polarization of Hindu-Muslim Identity in India
(Co-authors: Feyaad Allie, Viktor Enssle, Saad Gulzar, Gufran Pathan)
14:30 - 15:10
Roland Hodler
Ethnofederalism: Subnational Borders and the Salience of Ethnicity in Politics
(Co-authors: Richard Bluhm, Roland Hodler, Paul Schaudt)
15:10 - 15:50
Coffee Break
15:50 - 16:30
Ömer Ozak
(De facto) Historical Ethnic Borders and Contemporary Conflict in Africa
(Co-authors: Emilio Depetris-Chauvin)
16:30 - 17:10
Marta Reynal-Querol (Invited Session)
Hierarchy Differences and the Social Foundations of State
(Co-authors: Miriam Artiles and Joachim Vot)
18:30 onwards
Conference Dinner (By invitation only)
Day 2 - 24 June 2025
9:00 - 9:40
Moses Shayo - (Invited Session)
Paying Not to Know: News Avoidance in Times of War
(Co-authors: Ro’ee Levy, Guy Yanay)
9:40 - 10:20
Max Posch
Do Disasters Affect the Tightness of Social Norms?
10:20 - 10:40
Coffee Break
10:40 - 11:20
Clara Sievert
Supernatural Beliefs about Illness and Modern Medicine Use: Evidence from the DRC
11:20 - 12:00
Andrea Tesei
Pilgrims and Crusaders: Religion as a Political Double-Edged Sword
(Co-authors: Tommaso Colussi, Dominic Rohner, Felipe Valencia Caicedo)
12:00 - 12:20
Break
12:20 - 13:00
Mathias Thoenig - (Invited Session)
The gravity of violence
(Co-authors: Mathieu Couttenier, Julian Marcoux and Thierry Mayer)
13:00 - 14:30
Lunch (and end of the workshop)
picture Freepik - Generated by AI
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