It has long been recognized that the real progress in societies cannot be properly captured by dynamics in macroeconomic indicators. Hence, the efforts in the development of alternative indicators, such as Human Development Index or the Better Life Index, as better measures of wellbeing of citizens, which can be understood as how people feel and how they function, both on a personal and a social level, and how they evaluate their lives as a whole. This has been particularly important in most of the countries of the post-socialist bloc which experienced prolonged periods of deep economic downturn, in which GDP could have provided a very poor measure of the full human costs of the crisis.
This conference will bring together researchers interested in population well-being in the region and provide an opportunity for extended dialogue among academic and policy researchers, government officials and policymakers to promote use evidence-based decision making at all levels.
The goals of the conference are to:
- Bring together researchers interested in population well-being in the region and disseminate findings from high quality studies on quality of life and wellbeing.
- Provide an opportunity for extended dialogue among academic and policy researchers, government officials and policy makers to promote use of evidence and analytics in the decision making at all levels to improve population wellbeing.
Tentative list of topics/sections:
We are currently accepting abstract submissions of micro-level studies on three broad themes related to population wellbeing:
1. Subjective wellbeing (Happiness/ anxiety, Social inclusion/ exclusion, Satisfaction with life as a whole and its various aspects)
2. Potential determinants of subjective wellbeing
- Physical and Mental Health
- Poverty, Minimum/ Living Wages, and Standards of Living
- Youth Unemployment (determinants, impact on later life outcomes)
- Age (age discrimination in labour markets, poverty at old age, social care, pension system)
- Gender Equality (labour markets, domestic violence, political representation)
- Inequality and discrimination Education (returns to education, generational mobility, access)
- Family dynamics
- Working conditions and Safety
- Migration/ IDPs
3. Social structures and policies affecting population wellbeing:
- Civil Society/ Communities in Addressing Societal Challenges
- Social Assistance
- Health Care (inequities, inequality in access, transformations)
Keynote Speakers
- Professor David Neumark, an American economist and a Chancellor’s Professor of Economics at the University of California, Irvine. Neumark’s research interests include minimum wages and living wages, affirmative action, sex differences in labor markets, the economics of aging, and school-to-work programs, and has also done work in demography, health economics, development, industrial organization, and finance.
- Professor Klaus F. Zimmermann is a leading scholar and prominent policy authority in labor economics, population economics, migration and other areas of economics. Currently Professor Zimmermann is Co – Director, POP – Centre for Population, Development and Labour Economics at UNU – MERIT, Maastricht and Visiting Professor at Harvard and Princeton Universities. He was a Founding Director of the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) from April 1998 until February 2016. Under his leadership the institute established itself among the world’s leading research institutions and think tanks in the field of labor economics.
Call for papers to be presented at the conference
Conference presentation will be 20 minutes including questions.
Abstract Submission
250-350 words, structured as follows and submitted by email to [email protected]
- Full title of paper
- Abstract main body: background (outline of the policy context and/or academic literature informing the research), methodological approach and significance (description and application of the original research findings reported in the paper).
Author biography: 100-150 words (position, field of study, main research interests, key publications and full professional contact details).
Important dates:
Abstract submission: 10th March 2017
Notification of acceptance: 1st April 2017
Submission of full papers: 15th August 2017
Conference fee and travel/accommodation:
There is no submission fee. Conference participation fee will be announced later. Participants will be responsible for their own travel/accommodation.
Applications for travel grants and conference fee waiver will be considered for conference participants who need financial support.
Date: 14th – 15th September 2017
Hosted by: Kyiv School of Economics and VoxUkraine
Supporting organisations: University of Kent, University of California-Berkeley
Venue: TBA
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