STATEC Research

Research areas 

Productivity

The team provides sound measures of productivity for the national economy and for Luxembourg's industries. Such measures can be used to track the dynamics of productivity in Luxembourg and to identify the country's international position. Chiara Peroni sits on the board of Luxembourg’s National Productivity Council (Conseil National de la Productivité), and serves as Luxembourg’s delegate at the OECD CIIE. Vasja Sivec serves as Luxembourg’s delegate at the EU Output Gap Working Group.

Entrepreneurship

STATEC Research participates in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), an international program aimed at collecting and analysing comparative data on entrepreneurship. To this end, the team coordinates annual individual and expert surveys and reports on the state of entrepreneurship in Luxembourg. 

Labour market

This research examines the implications of globalization on employment in Luxembourg using trade and firm-level data.

Well-being and quality of life

Dissemination of research 

Research results are disseminated through conferences, seminars, and peer-reviewed publications. Papers of the team have appeared in journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Economics & Human Biology, Ecological Economics, Economic Modelling, European Economic Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Kyklos, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Oxford Economic Papers, Research Policy, Review of Income and Wealth, Small Business Economics, Social Indicators Research, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, and World Development. In addition, the team contributes to the public economic debate by organising international conferences, workshops, and seminars, and by compiling reports on issues of crucial interest to the public and policy makers.

News & Events

• Kelsey O’Connor presented “Methods to measure and (not) achieve societal progress” at the Workshop on Inequality, Poverty, Equal Opportunities, and Subjective Wellbeing organized by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in September. 
• In August, Kelsey O’Connor and Giulia Slater each presented papers at the Towards a People First Economy: A world to win in Rotterdam organized by The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, respectively, “European Integration: Bidirectional Happiness and Migration Relationships” and “Perspectives on Social Capital and Wellbeing”.
  
• Xi Chen presented “Firms Heterogeneity and Intra-Industry Reallocation: Beyond Dichotomous Partitioning” in June at the Conference on International Economics organized by University of Alcalá, Spain.
• Golnaz Amjadi presented “A Frontier Analysis of Transient and Persistent Eco-Efficiency Gap: Evidence from 22 European Countries” at North American Productivity Workshop organized by the Miami Business school and at 29th Ulvön Environmental Economics Conference organized by the Center for Environmental and Resource Economics, in June.
• In June, Kelsey O'Connor presented “How to measure and (not) achieve societal progress” at Inaugural Measuring Progress Workshop organized by STATEC Research.
• June 2-3, STATEC Research will host the inaugural Annual Workshop on Measuring Progress. Approximately 40 scholars and practitioners will meet in Luxembourg to discuss the quest for better lives, how to measure progress, and tools to lastingly increase quality of life. Over two days, there will be two keynote speeches and 24 presentations all in plenary. Virtual attendance is possible. Please check the website above for details.
• In May, Chiara Peroni, Kelsey O’Connor and Giulia Slater each presented papers at the 1st Welfare & Policy Conference in Bordeaux, respectively, “Trust Predicts Compliance with COVID-19 Containment Policies: Evidence from Ten Countries Using Big Data”,  “How to measure and (not) achieve societal progress” and “The Wellbeing effects of Social Capital in times of crisis: the case of the Covid-19 Pandemic.”
• Kelsey O'Connor presented “Effects of Teaching Styles on Life Satisfaction and Test Scores: Evidence from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)” in the University of Siena’s Economics Seminar, in April.
• In April, it was announced that Luxembourg was chosen to host the 2025 annual conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies. The competitive bid was prepared by the team at STATEC Research and Business Events Luxembourg. The conference is expected to take place at the end of July and draw approximately 350 participants from around the world.
• Vasja Sivec presented “European Commission projections on productivity” in STATEC’s Séminaire économique, in April.  
• In April, Kelsey O’Connor was asked to join the World Wellbeing Panel. Comprised of approximately 50 leading scholars in subjective well-being around the world, the aim of the Panel is to promote well-being as the ultimate purpose of all major decision makers, particularly government.
• Giovanni Mangiarotti presented “Productivity dispersion and allocative efficiency - Firm level evidence for Manufacturing and Non financial services in Luxembourg” in STATEC’s Séminaire économique in March.
• In March, Paperjam reported on our research that documents how labour productivity growth has slowed in Luxembourg and the reasons why. See the original study by Chiara Peroni and Xi Chen here.
• In February, Kelsey O’Connor and Giulia Slater each presented papers at the BeWell Fourth Annual Meeting in Berlin, respectively, “European Integration: Bidirectional Happiness and Migration Relationships” and “Social Capital changes the importance of income on subjective wellbeing: evidence from international datasets.”
• Kelsey O’Connor presented “How to measure and (not) achieve societal progress” at the Economics of Wellbeing and Global Flourishing symposium, with the Harvard Flourishing Network in February.
• Charles-Henri DiMaria presented “The limits to green benchmarking” in STATEC’s Séminaire économique in February.
• We concluded our first complete year of the Measuring Progress and Well-being Seminar Series with 12 seminars from a broad range of engaging speakers, ranging from Amazon and Oxford to the Wellbeing Economy Alliance. Recordings are available on the seminar page or our YouTube channel. We are excited to begin the 2023 Spring Season on the 18th of January. Please see our web page for details.
• We published three papers in December on the linkages between productivity and well-being with the International Productivity Monitor. Our work was well received, as the editors write in the Introduction, “STATEC Research has become an important centre for research on well-being measurement in general and well-being productivity linkages in particular.”
• In November, Chiara Peroni, Charles-Henri Di Maria, and Xi Chen each presented papers at the seminar Découplages ressources-production et performance éco-socio-environnementale, organized by the l’Observatoire de la compétitivité and the Conseil national de la productivité, specifically: Labour productivity dispersion and allocative efficiency in Luxembourg, Evaluation verte, and Luxembourg labour productivity slowdown in a comparative perspective.
• Francesco Sarracino presented “Neo-humanism: opportunities for a socially and environmentally sustainable world” in November at the 75th Annual Conference of the World Association for Public Opinion Research in Dubai, based in part on the recently published paper available here.
• In October Golnaz Amjadi presented “A frontier analysis of transient and persistent eco-efficiency gaps: Evidence from 25 European countries” at the Asia Pacific Productivity Conference 2022.

Recent Publications

• Lei, L., Xia, Y., and Wu, F. (2023), Child Gender and Subjective Well-Being of Older Parents in China, Journal of Happiness Studies, On-line first.
• O’Connor, K. J. (2023), Easterlin paradox. in Dictionary of Ecological Economics. Edited by Brent Haddad and Barry D. Solomon. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  
• Easterlin, R.A. and O'Connor, K.J., (2023), Three years of COVID-19 and Happiness in Europe: A Macro View, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), 120 (19), e2300717120.
• Riillo, C. A. F.  and Jakobs K.(2023) Luring European SMEs into ICT Standardization: Problems, Issues, and a Potential Way Forward, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, online first.
• Sarracino, F., Greyling, T., O'Connor, K.J., Peroni, C., and Rossouw, S. (2023), A year of pandemic: levels, changes and validity of well-being data from Twitter. Evidence from ten countries, PLoS ONE, 18(2): e0275028.
• Riillo, C. A. F. and Jakobs K. (2022) Too many or too few Standards Setters? Evidence from the Performance of Firms engaged in Standardization, The Journal of Technology Transfer, online first.
• Riillo, C. A. F. Mijatovic I. and de Vries Henk J. (2022) Certification to compensate gender prejudice – Analysis on impact of management system certification on export: Applied Economics, Applied Economics, 54(33), pp. 3777-3794
• Riillo C. A. F., Allamano-Kessler R.; Asnafi N., Fomin V.V. and van de Kaa G. (2022) Technological Uncertainty and Standardization Strategies: A Coopetition Framework, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, DOI.
• Sarracino F., Riillo C.A.F (2022) Facing the challenge of globalisation: the role of confidence in institutions, Science and Peace, 13(1), pp. 85-136. 
• Sarracino, F. and O'Connor, K. J. (2022), A measure of well-being efficiency based on the World Happiness Report, International Productivity Monitor, (43), 10-40.
• Peroni, C., Pettinger, M., and F. Sarracino (2022), Productivity Gains from Workers' well-being in Europe, International Productivity Monitor, (43), 41-61.
• DiMaria, C.H., Peroni, C. and Sarracino, F. (2022), From economic productivity to productive well-being: the role of life satisfaction and adjusted net savings, International Productivity Monitor, (43), 62-80.
• Sarracino, F. and O'Connor, K. J. (2022), Neo-humanism and Covid-19: opportunities for a socially and environmentally sustainable world, Applied Research in Quality of Life, On-line first.
• Easterlin, R.A., and O'Connor, K.J. (2022), Explaining Happiness Trends in Europe, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119(37).
• Easterlin, R.A., and O’Connor, K.J. (2022), The Easterlin Paradox, in Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Edited by Klaus F. Zimmermann. Springer Cham.
• Amjadi, G., Lundgren, T. (2022), Is Industrial Energy Inefficiency Transient or Persistent? Evidence from Swedish Manufacturing, Applied Energy, vol. 309.
• Jovanovic V., Sarracino F., Lazic M., and Gavrilov-Jerkovicz V. (2021), Well-being and the pandemic: Trust in people matters more than trust in institutions, Psychological Reports, On-line first.
• Manaresi, F. Menon, C. and Santoleri, P. (2021), Supporting innovative entrepreneurship: An evaluation of the Italian Start-up Act, Industrial and Corporate Change, online first.
• Sarracino, F., O’Connor, K.J., and Ono, H. (2021), Are economic growth and well-being compatible: Welfare reform and life satisfaction in Japan. Oxford Economic Papers, online first.
• Morgan, R., and O’Connor, K.J. (2021), Labor market policy and subjective well-being during the Great Recession. 2021. Journal of Happiness Studies, online first.
• Pugno, M. and Sarracino, F. (2021). Structural changes in economic growth and well-being. The case of Italy's parabola, Social Indicators Research, online first.
• Marcellino, M. and Sivec, V. (2021). Nowcasting GDP Growth in a Small Open Economy: Luxembourg, National Institute Economic Review, 256, 127-161.
• Schork, J., Riillo C.A.F., and Neumayr J. (2021), Survey Mode Effects on Objective and Subjective Questions: Evidence from the Labour Force Survey., Journal of Official Statistics, 37(1) pp. 213–237.
• Sarracino, F., and O’Connor, K.J. (2021), Economic growth and well-being beyond the Easterlin paradox, in A Modern Guide to the Economics of Happiness. Edited by Luigino Bruni, Alessandra Smerilli, and Dalila De Rosa. Edward Elgar.

Reports 

• Peroni, C., Riillo, C.A.F., and Pettinger M. (2023), Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Luxembourg 2022/2023, STATEC, Luxembourg.
• Riillo, C. A. F., (2022) Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2022: An OECD Scoreboard, Full Country Profile: Luxembourg. OECD Publishing, Paris.
• Chen, X, and C. Peroni (2022), Luxembourg’s Labour Productivity Slowdown in a Comparative Perspective, Rapport annuel 2021-2022: Polycrise, Conseil National de la Productivite, Luxembourg.
• Mangiarotti, G (2022), Productivity and wage dispersion. Preliminary firm-level evidence for Manufacturing and Non-financial Services in Luxembourg, Rapport annuel 2021-2022, Conseil National de la Productivite, Luxembourg
• DiMaria, C.-H. (2022), The limits to green benchmarking, Rapport annuel 2021-2022: Polycrise, Conseil National de la Productivité, Luxembourg.
• Sarracino, F., Ametepe, F.S., Hartung A. (2022) Pibien-être Report 2022, STATEC, Luxembourg.
• Kolve, A., Sivec, V. and Blondeau, F. (2021), A simple modification of the HP filter for correcting transitory structural breaks, European Commission Note 120.
• DiMaria, C.-H. (2021), Of banks’ productivity, challenges and recent advances, in Rapport annuel 2020-2021. Pandémie et productivité. Conseil National de la Productivité, Luxembourg.
• Mangiarotti, G. (2021), Productivity dispersion and allocative efficiency - Firm-level evidence for Manufacturing and Non-financial services in Luxembourg, in Rapport annuel 2020-2021. Pandémie et productivité. Conseil National de la Productivité, Luxembourg.
• Peroni, C., O’Connor, K.J., Riillo, C.A.F., Santoleri, P., Sarracino, F., and Sivec, V. (2021), Studies from STATEC Research: timely information on well-being and the economy, in Bilan Compétitivité et Résilience 2021: Très bonne résistance de l'économie luxembourgeoise. Ministère de l’Économie, Observatoire de la compétitivité, chapter 5.
• Peroni, C., Riillo, C.A.F., Santoleri P., and Steinsson S. (2021), Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Luxembourg 2020/2021. STATEC, Luxembourg.
• Sarracino, F., and O’Connor, K.J., Greyling, T., Peroni, C., and Rossouw S., (2021) From tweets to statistics: Sentiment analysis of tweets reveals how people’s feelings have changed during the pandemic in Luxembourg. STATEC Regards No. 2.

Recent Working papers

• O'Connor, K.J. (2023), Measuring Societal Progress, ISQOLS Working Paper, No. 1.
• Chen, X. (2023) The impact of COVID-19 on Industrial Production in Luxembourg, ECOSTAT, 129/2022, STATEC.
• Riillo, C. A. F.,  Peroni C. (2022) From an Official Survey to a Probability-based Online Panel: the Drivers to Opt-in an Online Panel, CIPHER 2022.
• Amjadi, G., Lundgren, T., and W. Zhou (2022), A Dynamic Analysis of Industrial Energy Efficiency and the Rebound Effect: Implications for Carbon Emissions and Sustainability, Energy Efficiency, vol. 15(54).
• Riillo, C. A. F.,  Peroni C. (2022) From an Official Survey to a Probability-based Online Panel: the Drivers to Opt-in an Online Panel, CIPHER 2022.
• O'Connor, K.J. (2022), Measuring Progress, IZA Policy Paper, No. 194, IZA .
• Sarracino, F., O'Connor, K.J. (2022), Neo-humanism and Covid-19: opportunities for a socially and environmentally sustainable world, ECOSTAT, 129/2022, STATEC.
• Sarracino, F., O'Connor, K.J. (2022), A measure of well-being efficiency based on the World Happiness Report , IZA Discussion Paper, DP No. 15669, IZA.
• Sarracino, F., Greyling, T., O'Connor, K.J., Peroni, C., and Rossouw S. (2022). Trust predicts compliance with Covid-19 containment policies: evidence from ten countries using big data. IZA Discussion Paper No 15171.
  
• Sivec, V. (2022), Inequality Constrained Output Gap, ECOSTAT, No. 1 2022, STATEC.
• Bartolini, S., O'Connor, K.J. (2022), Effects of teaching practices on life satisfaction and test scores: evidence from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), GLO Working Paper Series No. 1009, Global Labor Organization.
• Riillo C.A.F. and Peroni, C., (2021), Acceptability of COVID-19 Contact-tracing apps in Luxembourg: a Panel Analysis, ECOSTAT, 12/11/2021, STATEC.
• Pugno, M., Sarracino, F. (2021), Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation to protect the environment: correlational and causal evidence, MPRA Working Paper No 107143.
• DiMaria, C.-H. (2021). Financial crisis and contagion in a micro-FISIM framework., Économie et statistiques No 122.
• DiMaria, C.-H. (2021). Quand les comptes nationaux rejoignent la mesure de l'efficacité des banques., Économie et statistiques No 124.
• Sarracino, F., Greyling, T., O'Connor, K.J., Peroni, C., and Rossouw S. (2021). A year of pandemic: levels, changes and validity of well-being data from Twitter. Evidence from ten countries., GLO (Global Labor Organization) Working Paper Series No. 831.
• Massimiliano, M., and Sivec, V. (2021). Nowcasting GDP Growth in a Small Open Economy., Économie et statistiques No 120.
• Sarracino, F., and O'Connor, K.J. (2021). Neo-humanism and Covid-19: opportunities for a socially and environmentally sustainable world., GLO (Global Labor Organization) Working Paper Series No. 825.

Research visiting

We welcome visiting researchers at our premises. Visiting researchers are expected to further develop our research areas. Please submit your short project description and CV to research.recruit@statec.etat.lu.

Contact:

• The research team is always available to answer your enquiries by mail at research@statec.etat.lu.
• Alternatively, you can reach us by phone at (+352) 247-84352 on Monday and Tuesday (9:00-16:00) and Wednesday (9:00- 12:00).
• Enquiries on recruitment and vacancies should be addressed to research.recruit@statec.etat.lu.
• Address:

STATEC Research
House of Entrepreneurship
14, rue Erasme
L-1468 Luxembourg-Kirchberg