2026-07-06
Fontenay, S., & Tojerow, I.
Labour Economics (2026).
Description. We examine how the provision of paternity leave can reduce the time mothers spend on disability insurance after childbirth. Using Belgian administrative data and a Regression Discontinuity Design around a July 2002 reform, we estimate that mothers whose partners became eligible for a statutory paternity leave spent, on average, 13% fewer days on disability over the following twelve years. We provide suggestive evidence that paternity leave affects maternal long-run disability through (1) increased fathers’ involvement in child care, resulting in more child-free time for mothers; and (2) longer waiting time before having a second child.
Work disability after motherhood: How paternity leave can help
2026-06-10
Fernández‐Guerrico, S., & Tojerow, I.
British Journal Of Industrial Relations (2026).
Description. This paper investigates whether a higher level of co-ordination in collective wage bargaining affects the wage costs of job displacement. We use quasi-exogenous variation in the timing of job loss due to mass layoffs spanning an institutional reform that introduced national ceilings to wage agreements negotiated at sectoral- and firm-level—the 1996 Belgian Wage Norm. We find that average earnings losses over a 10-year period after displacement are roughly half as large under the more coordinated wage bargaining system. While business cycle conditions may contribute to some earnings differences, several factors suggest that cyclical effects are unlikely to be the primary driver of our results. The attenuation stems from faster re-employment and improved sorting into higher ranked firms, consistent with wage compression, facilitating quicker job transitions and limiting downward mobility after job loss. These effects are concentrated among high-skill service workers.
Collective Wage Co-ordination and the Costs of Job Displacement
2026-04-17
Bastin, T., Dermine, E., Lorgeoux, C., Tojerow, I. & Verdonck, M.
Policy Report N°26.01
Dans le cadre des projets stratégiques financés par l’ULB en 2022, le CDPS (centre de droit public et social) et le DULBEA (département d’économie appliquée) de l’ULB ont conjointement développé une base de données unique du contentieux du travail. Cette base de données, baptisée SOCLEX, répertorie plus de 40 000 informations relatives à 2 52 décisions judiciaires. L’un des objectifs du projet est de permettre, par exemple, de documenter les inégalités d’accès entre travailleurs aux juridictions du travail ou encore d’évaluer l’impact de la réforme de 2007 concernant l’indemnité de procédure, en particulier sur le coût du procès et les modes de représentation.
Le présent document est consacré à la description des choix méthodologiques associés à la construction de SOCLEX.
2024-12-12
De Beir, C., May, X. & Verdonck, M.
Policy Report N°24.02
Rapport uitgevoerd door het Département d’économie appliquée de l’Université libre de Bruxelles (DULBEA) en het InsBtut de GesBon de l’Environnement et d’Aménagement du Territoire de l’ULB (IGEAT) in opdracht van Actiris
2026-09-21
Françoise Delmez, Ilan Tojerow, Magali Verdonck
Policy brief N°26.06
| This policy brief, the third in a three-part series on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), reviews institutional and societal responses to IPV, focusing on Belgium’s legal system, healthcare and mental health services, social work, and material support. It shows that Belgium has built a comprehensive legal framework since the 1990s, yet reporting to police remains low and enforcement of protection orders is limited, while IPV victims face multidimensional legal needs that extend well beyond criminal prosecution. Healthcare and mental health services are frequent points of contact but under-identify victims due to screening gaps, even though trauma-informed and advocacy-based interventions show measurable benefits. Social work and coordinated community responses improve outcomes when timely and empowerment-based, and material support, particularly shelter and housing, remains structurally insufficient relative to need. The brief concludes that legal aid, healthcare, and material support are complementary and that no single intervention is sufficient: sustainable exit from abusive relationships depends on their coordination, with substantial costs to society when services are inadequate, fragmented, or inaccessible to marginalised survivors. |
2026-09-04
Françoise Delmez, Ilan Tojerow
Policy brief N°26.05
| This policy brief, the second in a three-part series on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), reviews the individual and societalconsequences of IPV and the barriers victims face in exiting abusive relationships. It covers acute and chronic physicalhealth effects, mental health consequences, impacts on employment and earnings, and effects on children exposed toviolence, drawing on international evidence and Belgian survey data. The brief shows that IPV substantially raises the riskof injury, chronic disease, depression, and PTSD; reduces victims’ labour market participation, earnings, and workplaceperformance; and produces lasting developmental and behavioural harm in exposed children. It highlights that not allvictims of IPV are equally exposed with IPV-related physical and mental health consequences disproportionately severeamong socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. It concludes that financial dependence, emotional entrapment, and thepresence of children combine to keep victims in abusive relationships, and that sustainable exit typically requirescoordinated psychological, social, and material support, underscoring the case for integrated legal aid, health, and socialservices. |