Public Outreach

How are wages decided upon? One major determining factor is how value added is shared between a company’s profits and employee compensation. It has been collectively admitted that over the past forty years, profits have increased in many developed countries at the expense of wages. Economists Gilbert Cette, Lorraine Koehl, and Thomas Philippon look at this in a new light and demonstrate that the percentage for wages has actually increased in France.

How can you set yourself apart within a world of excellence? In order to be noticed and attract the very best students, elite French business schools, much like peacocks, show off their finest attire. However, when it comes to the strategy institutions use to win over students, a new element is quickly gaining traction: accreditations! The economists Mathieu Lefebvre and Julien Jacqmin explore this new tactic.

Not all is equal between natives and immigrants in the labor market. Beyond wage differences, immigrants also tend to work in more dangerous jobs and face difficult working conditions. According to the economist Eva Moreno Galbis, this difference can be partially explained by outside employment opportunities and preferences driven by socio-demographic characteristics.

What could be more natural than reaching agreement by following the preference of the majority? Mihir Bhattacharya and Nicolas Gravel study the issue through a mathematical lens. They show that, in addition to its philosophical legitimacy, the majority is a collective preference representative of the preferences of the members of a society. Like the average, the median, or other statistical measures, the preference of the majority bears the closest resemblance to the individual preferences from which it emanates.

For both insurance and divine protection, giving to the church can pay off. This is what economists Emmanuelle Auriol, Julie Lassébie, Amma Panin, Eva Raiber, and Paul Seabright demonstrate after studying the reasons why Ghanaian parishioners often give such large donations (sometimes over 10% of their income!) to their churches.

France is suffering from a shortage of general practitioners. One of the symptoms of this sickness has been termed 'medical desertification'. But what lies behind this expression? The economists Julien Silhol, Bruno Ventelou and Anna Zaytseva overthrow the assumptions in their latest publication. They reveal a little-known truth: inequalities exist in access to care from one end of France to the other, and not only in rural areas. An in-depth study is conducted into the practices of general practitioners in these areas defined by the ARS as 'under-provisioned': do these medical practices differ according to location?

How do you measure a concept as obscure as biodiversity? Indicators are one way to do so. But the economists Pierre Courtois, Charles Figuières, and Chloé Mulier reveal that these may not all lead to the same result. For example, Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao's and Martin Weitzman’s indicators each lead to policies that are sometimes on complete opposite sides of the spectrum. While one recommends saving the most fragile species, the other recommends saving the most robust! So, does protecting the environment come down to perspective?

Reducing overall plastic consumption, vaccinating enough people to curb a pandemic, or donating to charity – these are all divisive issues. If I want to contribute, will my actions make any difference? What cost am I willing to pay? Economists Nicolas Gravel and Anwesha Banerjee study the extent to which an individual’s beliefs on issues such as these can influence the actions taken. Their research shows that the more closely a group's members are aligned on an issue, the more likely the group is to act toward the public good.

In the current Anthropocene epoch, human economic activities seem increasingly incompatible with nature preservation. In fact, many habitats and species have already paid the price… Researchers Noël Bonneuil and Raouf Boucekkine strive to address this apparent paradox by proposing an approach that combines population genetics and econometrics.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to have a baby. In France, one in every eight couples seeks help for a fertility problem. Solutions such as medically assisted reproduction (MAR) do exist, but these treatments can be costly for both individuals and society. Faced with this phenomenon, economists Johanna Etner, Natacha Raffin, and Thomas Seegmuller have sought the best system to reduce the inequalities generated by infertility, which affects individuals in an increasingly random manner.