SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITIES AND PUBLIC POLICIES IN THE WAKE OF THE 2030 AGENDA

THIS RESEARCH PROJECT FOCUSES, ON THE ONE SIDE, ON THE ANALYSIS OF SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITIES (RELATED TO INCOME, EDUCATION, HEALTH AND ACCESS TO BASIC SERVICES, INCLUDING THE CAPACITY TO PAY FOR ENERGY) AND, ON THE OTHER SIDE, ON THE RESULTING POLICY CHALLENGES DERIVED FROM THE NEED TO MITIGATE SUCH INEQUALITIES AND PROGRESS SIMULTANEOUSLY TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF UNITED NATIONS SGDS’ TARGETS (IN PARTICULAR SDGS 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, AND 13). THE PROJECT IS THUS STRUCTURED ALONG FIVE GENERAL TARGETS: EXAMINATION OF THE SOURCES OF GENDER INEQUALITIES AND JOB POLARIZATION TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEBATE ON THE SHORTEST PATH TO ACHIEVE SDG 5 (GT1); ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WITHIN-COUNTRY INEQUALITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (MEASURED THROUGH HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS RELATED TO INCOME, EDUCATION AND HEALTH) ASSESSING HOW THIS RELATIONSHIP IS SHAPED BY ECONOMIC POLICY (GT2); INVESTIGATION OF HOW THE MANAGEMENT OF TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURES CAN SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT URBAN INEQUALITIES AND MOBILITY (BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRANSPORT MODES) AND THE RESULTING EXTERNALITIES, ESPECIALLY POLLUTION (GT3); ANALYSIS OF THE POLICY OUTCOMES FROM DECENTRALIZING PUBLIC RESOURCES, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON HEALTH SERVICES, EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, AND EU STRUCTURAL SUPPORT PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL COOPERATION (ETC) ONE (GT4); AND EXPLORATION OF THE POTENTIAL TRADE-OFFS AND SYNERGIES THAT MAY ARISE IN THE PATH TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SOME SDGS (GT5). AN IMPORTANT VALUE ADDED OF THE PROJECT IS THE USE OF NEWLY AVAILABLE DATABASES (SEE SECTION 3.2 FOR DETAILS), WHICH WILL ALLOW OUR RESEARCH TO COME UP WITH NEW SIGNIFICANT RESULTS. SIGNIFICANT IN A TWOFOLD DIMENSION: (I) THE SOCIAL DIMENSION, AS OUR FOCUS IS ON A DIVERSITY OF KEY SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITIES WHICH ARE FULLY ALIGNED WITH THE UNITED NATIONS 2030 AGENDA; AND (II) THE ACADEMIC DIMENSION, AS PROVEN BY THE 53 JCR ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN 2018-2022 BY THE GROUP MEMBERS, OF WHICH 22 HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN Q1 JOURNALS (SEE SECTION 3.5 FOR DETAILS). THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS A NATURAL CONTINUATION OF THE WORK CONDUCTED BY OUR CONSOLIDATED TEAM, WHICH HAS RECEIVED SYSTEMATIC FUNDING IN THE PAST THROUGH PROJECTS ECO2009-07636, ECO2012-31081, ECO2016-75623-R, AND PID2019-104723RB-I00. THE CORE OF THE TEAM IS STABLE AND, AS THE CVS SHOW, TRULY COMMITTED TO ACADEMIC RESEARCH. AS EXAMPLE OF SUCH COMMITMENT, IT IS WORTHWHILE TO REMARK THEIR CONTINUOUS PARTICIPATION IN (I) RESEARCH STAYS AT INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS; (II) CONFERENCES; AND (III) COMPETITIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE 14 PHD DISSERTATIONS SUPERVISED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM IN THE LAST 10 YEARS (2013-2022). NINE OF THESE FOURTEEN NEW DOCTORS ARE CURRENTLY HOLDING DIFFERENT POSITIONS AT ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS (SEE SECTION 6.3 FOR DETAILS). ALL THIS INVOLVEMENT PROVIDES US WITH A WIDE NETWORK WITH WHICH WE INTERACT AND PUSH OUR RESEARCH FORWARD IN TERMS OF RELEVANCE, QUALITY, AND IMPACT.