The Axa Gender Lab at Bocconi University, the Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), and the World Bank's ECA Gender Innovation Lab (ECAGIL), Institute for Economic Development, and the Center for Research on Women and Jobs (CRWJ) are organizing the second edition of the workshop on “Mend the Gap in Economic Opportunities in Europe and Central Asia.” 

The workshop will provide a platform for evidence-based policy dialogue on strategies to promote women’s economic empowerment, labor market participation, and entrepreneurship.

The research conference will have a similar format as the 2025 edition and will be held from May 14 to May 15, 2026 at the EIEF campus in Rome, Italy. 

Keynote Speaker: Professor Kjell Salvanes, Norwegian School of Economics

We invite submissions of one-page extended abstracts that will include the objectives, the research question, a brief description of the methodology, preliminary findings, author names and affiliations, and contact email for corresponding author.

 

We welcome empirical papers on key constraints to women’s labor market participation and on effective policies to expand women’s access to good jobs, with particular relevance for the economies of Europe and Central Asia (ECA). Topics of special interest include (but are not limited to!):

 

  • Women’s employment and earnings
  • Social norms and unpaid work
  • Technology, AI and digitalization
  • Education, skilling, and school-to-work transitions for young women
  • Gender gaps in firm behavior and workplace practices
  • Female entrepreneurship and access to finance
  • Aging, pensions and care
  • Migration, displacement and cross-border mobility
  • Regional disparities in gender outcomes

 

Proposals can be submitted to: mendthegapworkshop@worldbank.org

 

Selected papers may be considered for publication in a special issue of LABOUR: Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations. Early-career researchers are encouraged to apply.

 

Scientific Committee

  • Manuel Bagues, Warwick
  • Kathleen Beegle, World Bank
  • Gaia Dossi, EIEF
  • Markus Eberhardt, University of Nottingham
  • Anna Fruttero, World Bank
  • Nancy Lozano, World Bank
  • Joao Monteiro, EIEF
  • Lucia Rizzica, Bank of Italy
  • Almudena Sevilla, LSE
  • Franco Peracchi, EIEF
  • Paola Profeta, Bocconi University

Deadline for extended abstract submission (not full papers): January 16, 2026

 

Communication of paper acceptance: February 15, 2026

 

Final paper submission: March 30, 2026

 

The final program will be posted on the workshop’s website by April 6, 2026.

 

Program

 

DAY 1 - Thursday, May 14

 

 

10:00 – 10:30 

Registration and Welcome coffee 

 

 

10:30 – 10:40 

Openings

 

 

 

SESSION 1

10:40 – 11:10 

What Shapes Disadvantaged Women’s Labor Market Choices? Evidence from Discrete Choice Experiments in Eastern Europe

Tomasz Gajderowicz, University of Warsaw (with V. Morrica and C. Ferre)

11:10 – 11:40 

Self-Confidence of Job Market Candidates: Is there a Gender Gap?

Patricia Funk, U. della Svizzera Italiana (with A. Marchese and R. Intinghero)

 

 

11:40 – 12:00

Small Coffee break

 

 

12:00 – 13:00 

Keynote Speech by Prof. Kjell Gunnar Salvanes, Norwegian School of Economics

 

 

13:00 – 14:00

Lunch break

 

 

 

 SESSION 2

14:00 – 14:30 

Beyond the Usual Suspects: Identity Uncertainty and Gender Gaps in Lending

Anna Fruttero, World Bank (with A. Donald and C. Broccolini)

14:30 – 15:00 

Start-up Visas Around the Baltics

Helena Schweiger, EBRD (with T. Deisemann)

15:00 – 15:30 

Board Gender Quotas and Female Borrowing: Evidence from Loan-Level Data [ppt]

Fabrizio Core, LUISS

 

 

15:30 – 16:00

Coffee break

 

 

 SESSION 3

16:00 – 16:30 

Family Planning and Ethnic Heritage [ppt] [paper]

Graziella Bertocchi, University of Modena (with A. Dimico and C. Falco)

16:30 – 17:00 

Agricultural Income Growth and Gender Inequality in Education: Evidence from a Cotton Price Shock in Tajikistan [ppt] [paper]

Angelina Nazarova, University of Essex

 

 

17:00 – 18:15 

Policy Discussion Roundtable 

 

 

 18:15 – 18:30

Group Photo

 

 

18:30 – 20:00

Cocktail Dinner (Apericena)

 

 

Poster Session  1 throughout the day

 

 

 

DAY 2 - Friday, May 15

 

 

9:30-10:00

Women Business and The Law 2026 - Benchmarking Laws for Jobs and Inclusive Growth

Ana Maria Tribin Uribe, World Bank

 

 

 

SESSION 4

10:00-10:30 

Stay Home, Return to Work, or Go for Another Baby? Working From Home Availability and Decisions After Childbearing [ppt]

Dzsamila Vonnák, ELTE KRTK (with R. Peto and A. Szabo-Morvai)

10:30-11:00 

Expanding Paternity Leave: Effects on Beliefs, Norms, and Gender Gaps

 

Philip Rosenbaum,  Copenhagen Business School (with H.  Kleven, C. Landais, A. S. Lassen, H.  Steingrimsdottir and J. Sogaard)

 

 

11:00-11:30

Coffee break

 

 

 

SESSION 5

11:30-12:00 

Mapping the Gender Dimension in Taxation and Budgeting: A Cross-Country Study of Laws, Policies and Practices

Hannelore M. L. Niesten, World Bank (with A. Sakhonchik and L. Ferraz di Ricco)

12:00-12:30 

Beyond Time: Unveiling the Invisible Burden of Mental Load

F. Barigozzi, University of Bologna (with P. Biroli, N. Molinari, S. Vitellozzi and E. Pisanelli)

12:30-15:00

Closing lunch

 

 

Poster Session 2  throughout the day

 

 

 

POSTER SESSION 1 – MAY 14

1.       Fast-Track to Family? Evidence from the G8 High School Reform in Germany

Olivia Masi, Bocconi University (with H. Alm and M. Stockburger)

2.     Who Cares? Parental Leave Benefits and Household Division of Childcare

Federica Meluzzi, Bocconi University (with P. Molitor and J. Wegmann)

3.     Subjective Survival Beliefs, Cognitive Skills and Investments in Risky Assets

Francesco Maura, Bocconi University (with C. Dal Bianco, F. Parodi, and G. Weber)

4.     Gender Norms, Family, and Career: A Survey Study in Italy

Natalia Montinari, University of Bologna (with F. Barigozzi and G. Righetto)

5.     Intergenerational Mobility in Welfare: Wages and Amenities

Natalia Khorunzhina, Copenhagen Business School (with J. Wedewer and R. Wu)

6.     Dissatisfied and Gone? Gendered Patterns in Job Satisfaction and Employment Histories  [paper]

Monika Oczkowska, Warsaw School of Economics

7.     Joint Taxation and Intra-Household Inequality: Evidence from Same-Sex Couples in Germany

Elena Herold, LMU Munich (with L. Koch and C. Neisser)

8.     FINGROW: Evidence to Action

Martin Melecky, World Bank

 

 

POSTER SESSION 2 – MAY 15

1.       Parental Leave Uptake in Denmark: Fathers and Workplace Constraints

Sina Johanna Smid, Bocconi University (with S. A. Koob)

2.     The Forgotten NEETs

Pietro Galeone, Bocconi University (with T. Boeri and E. Cattaneo)

3.     Gender Identities and Relative Income in Polish Households: Implications for Marriage, Labor Supply and Marital Stability

Aleksandra Sojka, University of Warsaw (with K. Goraus-Tanska and Z. B. Liberda)

4.     Firms, Sorting, and the Gender Pay Gap in Morocco's Formal Sector

Federica Marzo, World Bank (with L.R. Paul-Delvaux and M. Fregoni)