“In LABFER, we will investigate how the ongoing changes in the labour market,  driven by globalisation and technological change,  affect the family formation, in particular how they affect fertility,” says Prof. Anna Matysiak from UW, a recipient of an ERC Consolidator Grant 2019. Watch our video and find out more about LABFER.

Prof. Anna Matysiak works as an assistant professor in the Chair of Population Economics and Demography at the University of Warsaw Faculty of Economic Sciences.

The project “Globalization- and Technology-Driven Labour Market Change and Fertility” (LABFER) will be the first one which will comprehensively describe and evaluate the consequences of dramatic labour market transformations on fertility.

“Technological change and globalisation have led to unprecedented transformations in the way we live and work. New jobs and earnings opportunities are emerging and we are now more flexible in how, where and when we work,” says Prof. Anna Matysiak. She adds: “On the other hand, however, the demands on workers increased with the intensification of the global competition and the availability of smartphones and internet makes it more and more difficult to disconnect from work. Our jobs are also increasingly taken over by robots or moved to countries with lower labour costs.”

Find out more about Prof. Matysiak’s project:

In December last year, ERC announced the winners of its latest Consolidator Grant competition. Over 300 top scientists and scholars across Europe received grants, among them was Prof. Anna Matysiak. In the beginning, the ERC Consolidator Grant was awarded to the Austrian Academy of Sciences (AAS) (host institution which was the legal entity), however, Prof. Anna Matysiak decided to realise the grant at the University of Warsaw, where she had begun work in September.

The ERC Executive Agency (ERCEA) accepted the change of host institution, and currently, a grant agreement is being prepared.