Professor Alina Sorgner Contributes to the EU-funded Horizon 2030 Project on Tackling Europe’s Growing Inequalities
Alina Sorgner, Associate Professor of Applied Data Analytics, participates in the European Union’s Horizon 2030 project, focusing on “Economic, Social and Spatial Inequalities in Europe in the Era of Global Mega-trends” (ESSPIN). This ambitious project is carried out by a consortium of 13 leading European institutions, including the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), the London School of Economics, the University of Groningen, the Politecnico di Milano, and the University of Cagliari.
As Europe faces an era of unprecedented change driven by global megatrends, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, digitalization of the economy, globalization, the refugee and migration crisis, and climate change, ESSPIN explores how these trends impact economic, social, and regional inequalities in the European Union. The aim of this research project is to derive evidence-based suggestions for policies – especially institutional policies at the national level in EU countries – that will help mitigate potentially adverse effects of global megatrends on various types of inequalities.
Professor Sorgner’s research, conducted in collaboration with researchers from the IfW Kiel, contributes to the project’s goal by examining how three specific global mega-trends – demographic change, digitalization, and globalization – affect two types of economic inequalities, specifically income and wealth. For instance, increasing income inequalities take typically the form of a strong polarization, where a small group of super-rich individuals possesses increasingly higher shares of income and wealth. These trends are related to the rise of discontent and anti-EU sentiments that threaten social and political stability, as well as economic progress in the EU.
Professor Sorgner’s Research: Entrepreneurship as a Tool to Reduce Inequality
Professor Sorgner’s research investigates the extent to which individuals turn to entrepreneurship as a means of adapting to changes driven by global megatrends, how institutional and cultural settings in different countries influence the use of the entrepreneurship option by individuals, and how entrepreneurship, in turn affects economic inequalities. One of the key findings of this research is that entrepreneurship – particularly when driven by opportunity rather than necessity – can help reduce these inequalities. Strengthening incentives for high-quality entrepreneurship could, therefore, serve as an effective policy tool for addressing economic inequalities. However, a major challenge is that entrepreneurship itself is influenced by global megatrends. For instance, the level of entrepreneurship tends to be low in ageing societies. Consequently, policies aimed at boosting the level of entrepreneurship without considering the extent to which a region is affected by the global megatrend are unlikely to succeed. Therefore, policies designed to promote entrepreneurship as a means of reducing economic inequalities should adopt a holistic approach that also accounts for the impact of global megatrends, incorporating complementary measures where necessary.
Learn more about the ESSPIN project and its outcomes.
