WeLaR Project
Horizon Europe WeLaR - Welfare systems and labour market policies for economic and social resilience in Europe (2022-2025)
Grant agreement No 101061388
WeLaR - Welfare systems and labour market policies for economic and social resilience in Europe – is a three-year research project funded by the Horizon Europe Framework Programme that aims to examine the impact of digitalisation, globalisation, climate change and demographic shifts on labour markets and welfare states in Europe. WeLaR will not only improve the understanding of the individual and combined effects of these trends, but it will also offer policy proposals helping to adapt welfare systems to these pressing challenges. The project's ultimate goal is to assist in the creation of policies that ensure economic growth is distributed fairly across society and generates opportunities for all.
To achieve those goals, the WeLaR team will develop a new framework to study the effects of the four megatrends on the labour market and the welfare state. It will integrate analysis of their impacts on labour supply, demand and market matching, while accounting for the interactions among the four megatrends and the mediating role of institutions and policies. WeLaR will use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as stakeholder engagement. The planned output includes 24 research papers, four policy briefs and a Foresight report.
The research is carried on by a consortium comprising 10 institutions from seven European countries: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER), the Institute For Structural Research (IBS), the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI), Università degli Studi di Perugia, Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Aldgate Strategy Group, the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Belgrade and the European Social Observatory (OSE).
The WeLaR consortium’s proposal was one of 131 projects submitted to the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions call: Inclusiveness in times of change (HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01). The consortium was awarded almost €3 million under grant agreement 101061388. The project will end 31 August 2025.
More information regarding the project are available here:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101061388
