WP 25-02.

This paper investigates the behavioral and welfare impacts of carbon pricing on energy- vulnerable households in Belgium. We focus on two distinct groups: energy poor (EP) households, who spend a large share of their income on energy, and hidden energy poor (hEP) households, who spend very little on energy, suggesting severe self-restriction. Leveraging eleven cross-sections of the Belgian Household Budget Survey, we estimate a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System with demographic controls to simulate household responses to energy price changes under the forthcoming EU ETS 2 reform. Our analysis shows that hEP households - despite their low observable energy use - suffer disproportionately high welfare losses. In contrast, EP households face higher tax burdens but experience comparatively smaller welfare impacts. Both groups display greater price sensitivity - particularly for heating fuels and transport - than the general population, with income emerging as the primary driver of this responsiveness. Logistic regression results further highlight key structural differences between EP and hEP households in terms of housing characteristics, heating systems, and regional location. These findings underscore the importance of integrating different vulnerability profiles into carbon pricing assessments, enabling the identification of horizontal equity concerns that are often overlooked in income-based analyses.

Field :

WP 25-01.

Field :

WP 24-01.

I compute and investigate wage differentials in Belgium between individuals born in the country and five major groups of non-native workers. I find that foreigners -but those from EU15 countries- earn, on average, less than natives, with the size of the wage gap that varies importantly across the different groups. Applying the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to the wage differentials, I find that skills and characteristics only account for a portion of the gaps. Complementarily, a part of the wage differentials remains persistently unexplained, especially for non-European workers. Additional information on industry affiliation and occupation decreases this unexplained part, but it also shows the existence of industrial and especially occupational segregation. Detailed heterogeneity analysis reveals also a prominent role of the time spent in the country in decreasing wage gaps and evidence of glass ceilings rather than sticky floors. The examination of immigrant wage differentials throughout the study period indicates that the average relative wage of all immigrants - except those from non-EU European countries- decreased.

Field : labor economics

WP 23-03.

Field : labor economics

WP 23-02.

Field : labor economics

WP 23-01.

Field : labor economics