Research highlights

Book · Oxford University Press · 2026

The Economics of Power and Poverty in the Home

WAP expert Olivier Bargain examines how resources, power, and well-being are distributed within households, with particular attention to gender inequality and child poverty. The book reviews methods for measuring individual welfare and explores how redistributive policies can affect women and children differently within the same household.

Report · 2026

Artificial Intelligence and Income Inequality

WAP expert Karina Doorley and her co-authors examine how artificial intelligence could affect employment, earnings, household income inequality, and public finances in Ireland. The report highlights the role of household risk-sharing and the tax-benefit system in shaping the distributional effects of technological change.

Journal article · World Development · 2026

Social Gaps, Perceived Inequality and Protests

WAP experts Olivier Bargain, Xavier Jara, and David Rivera examine how the gap between objective and perceived social status shapes participation in protests. Their findings show that status misperceptions predict protest involvement beyond perceived living costs, attitudes toward redistribution, peer influence, and broader feelings of unfairness.

Review · Science · 2026

Maternal Employment and Children’s Development

In a review published in Science, WAP expert Maria C. Lo Bue and her co-authors examine causal evidence on the relationship between maternal employment and children’s development. Their findings suggest that maternal employment generally has minimal or no adverse effects from early childhood through adolescence.

OECD Paper · 2025

Making Minimum-Income Benefits Crisis-Ready

WAP expert Herwig Immervoll examines how minimum-income benefits responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis across OECD countries. The analysis draws lessons for making social safety nets more accessible, responsive, and resilient to future shocks.