Research Projects on Employment and Social Policy

  • Sad woman with head in hands, photo by Photoboyko/Getty Images

    Combatting psychological violence against women across the EU

    23 Jul 2021

    Commissioned by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), researchers are conducting a study to help strengthen the institutional capacity of the EU and member states to combat psychological violence against women and coercive control.

  • A pack of banknotes in hand with a face value of five hundred euros, photo by Evgeny Savchenko/Adobe Stock.

    Assessing the economic value of illicit markets in the EU

    22 Mar 2021

    The aggregate annual revenues of the nine main criminal markets in the EU ranged from €92 to €188 billion in 2019, according to research that examined the scale, actors, modus operandi and trends in these markets.

  • Hands of women and a child on opposite sides of window pane, photo by Jevanto Productions/Adobe Stock

    Examining COVID-19 and intimate partner violence

    08 Mar 2021

    Researchers identified 27 practices that—to varying degrees—have ensured the continuity, accessibility and sustainability of support to women victims during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Overlapping silhouettes of hands in a watercolour , photo by smartboy10/Getty Images

    Examining child participation in EU political and democratic life

    22 Feb 2021

    An examination of how children participate in decision-making processes across the EU — including at the member state and local level — highlights both challenges and opportunities for improvement. The most successful schemes to promote children’s participation are inclusive, impactful and child-led, but societal views and attitudes can present barriers.

  • Mother holding baby and working at her computer, photo by Burlingham/Adobe Stock

    Incentivising parents to return to the labour market after parental leave

    25 Nov 2020

    Employers in the EU have a wide range of options to incentivise parents of young children to return to work. Government policies addressing the unequal distribution of unpaid (care) work and reducing the gender pay gap would also help increase the employment of mothers.

  • Social media network and remote work illustration, photo by peshkov/Adobe Stock

    Using social media data to ‘nowcast’ migration around the globe

    05 Nov 2020

    Because official statistics can be delayed or fail to correctly capture the full extent of migration, making informed policy decisions can be a challenge. Researchers are developing an approach to compute near real-time migration estimates for Europe and the United States using social media data.

  • Woman holding another's hands, showing compassion, photo by pressmaster/Adobe Stock

    Ideas to stimulate and sustain innovation in adult social care provision

    23 Oct 2020

    The demand for adult social care in the UK is rising and will continue to rise, but the supply of such care is struggling to keep up. Innovation in social care can enable more and better care to be delivered more cost-effectively.

  • Elderly patient waiting for a doctor in hospital, photo by pongmoji/Adobe Stock

    How, and how much, do migrants use UK health services?

    30 Mar 2020

    Recent arrivals to the UK use the NHS significantly less than the UK-born population, though the difference narrows when adjusted for age and self-assessed health. However, more work is needed to provide insights to policy makers on migrant use of the NHS, their health needs, and the quality of health care received.

  • Equal pay for equal work and the gender pay gap

    06 Mar 2020

    The European Parliament is exploring legislation around pay-transparency measures. Such measures have a clear potential to address unjustified or discriminatory wage gaps, but certain disadvantages need to be considered in implementing them.

  • Embassy of the Netherlands in Maputo, photo by Jcornelius/CC BY-SA 3.0

    International comparison of consular services

    21 Nov 2019

    To help the Dutch government identify best practices for consular services, researchers compared the the support different countries provide to their citizens abroad. The insights may help the Netherlands identify innovative practices, procedures and ways of organising their consular services.

  • British money surrounded by pills, tablets and capsules

    Exploring NHS and Social Care Funding Options

    07 Oct 2019

    Research on different health and social care funding models assessed the popularity of different funding approaches among the UK public. Previous research examined other countries' funding schemes and found there is no single, commonly preferred solution to achieving sustainable revenues.

  • Room with moving boxes and luggage

    Understanding barriers to international mobility for researchers

    18 Sep 2018

    International travel can help researchers work better together, but it has its challenges. RAND Europe surveyed researchers to gain a better understanding of their experiences of travelling for work and how that varies internationally.

  • Multiethnic group of people in a research meeting

    Understanding Private Sector Researcher Mobility

    28 Sep 2017

    The UK is an attractive place to work for researchers in the private sector, but Britain's decision to leave the EU has led to concerns from industry around access to talent, staff retention, and research funding.

  • Scientists of South Wales Immunology display flags of their home countries

    Understanding the Mobility of Public Sector and Academic Researchers

    04 May 2017

    A study for the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science, determined that professional motivations are the main drivers of academic and public sector researcher mobility, and most such researchers feel there is an expectation that they be internationally mobile.

  • Syrian and Iraqi refugees arrive from Turkey to Skala Sykamias, Lesbos island, Greece, where Spanish volunteers help them in October 2015

    Mediterranean Foresight Forum

    26 Jan 2017

    The Mediterranean Foresight Forum (MFF) was a RAND-funded effort to monitor current affairs, analyse future scenarios and simulate policy options to support the implementation of comprehensive responses to complex challenges in the Mediterranean region.

  • Assessing the Effectiveness of Conditional Cash Transfers as a Development Mechanism

    02 Nov 2016

    Conditional cash transfer programmes (CCTs) are seen as particularly effective in low- and middle-income countries, but relatively little is known about the interface between the supply of services and programme administration and specific human development outcomes. RAND Europe assessed the effectiveness of CCTs through a two-year grant from UK Economic Social Research Council and Department for International Development.

  • EU (Italy) - Swiss border post

    Ending the Schengen Agreement Would Cost €2–3 Billion Annually

    13 Oct 2016

    The economic costs of European countries ending the Schengen Agreement and reintroducing border controls range in the billions of euros, with further political and social costs.

  • Girl with balloons, walking on beach

    Better Health Outcomes Are Related to Social Expenditure

    11 May 2016

    Research shows that, across OECD countries, higher levels of social spending are strongly associated with better health, and the association is particularly strong for public social spending. Additionally, the association between social spending and better health strengthens over time.

  • diverse group of people

    Evaluating the Impact of the European Programme for Integration and Migration

    06 Apr 2016

    The European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) is a €3 million collaborative initiative of 12 major foundations to improve integration of and outcomes for migrants in Europe through advocacy, capacity-building and policy change. EPIM had RAND Europe evaluate the achievements and impacts of their work in 2012-2015, to ensure accountability and enable learning that can be acted on during the course of the programme.