Critical Mineral Depletion and Recycling: From the Perspective of the Cooperation and Open-Loop Competition

E-print/Working paper (2023)

Critical minerals are essential to the success of the transition to clean and sustainable technology. However, critical minerals face supply chain disruption, resource depletion, a lack of recycling ... [more ▼]

Critical minerals are essential to the success of the transition to clean and sustainable technology. However, critical minerals face supply chain disruption, resource depletion, a lack of recycling technology and minimum demand, which may be increasing over time, at least in the short run. This paper models critical mineral extraction and recycling strategies under international cooperation and open-loop commitment competition. We show that (1) recycling technology can only partially reduce dependence on the virgin supply of critical minerals, given that recycling essentially relies on the accumulated supply from depletable resources; (2) the social planner's Markovian optimal market supply is based on either virgin or recyclable resources, with the more socially desirable being used first; (3) if the recyclable resource is exhausted, the social planner does not have an optimal choice regarding how to exploit the remaining virgin resource; but (4) under open-loop commitment, the two resources can coexist until the virgin resource is exhausted. [less ▲]

Asymptotic covariances for functionals of weakly stationary random fields

E-print/Working paper (2023)

Rethinking the Regulation of Financial Influencers

in Goanta, Catalina (Ed.) Social Media Contracts – The Quest for Fairness and the Need for Reform (2023)

The growth of social media has led to an unprecedented rise in financial influencers, so- called finfluencers, who share investment ideas and opinions with a global audience. Finfluencers have various ... [more ▼]

The growth of social media has led to an unprecedented rise in financial influencers, so- called finfluencers, who share investment ideas and opinions with a global audience. Finfluencers have various business models, from endorsing products to advertising their mutual funds. Retail investors are particularly vulnerable to the risks posed by financial influencers because most lack financial literacy, according to a UK Financial Conduct Authority study from 2021. Additionally, the power dynamic inherent in the influencer- follower relationship can also increase consumers’ susceptibility, particularly through one- sided parasocial relationships. Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships where one person extends emotional energy and interest towards the financial influencer, who may be completely unaware of the follower’s existence. Such relationships can lead to a higher level of trust, credibility, and reliance on the advice and recommendations of financial influencers, even if they are not qualified or licensed to provide financial advice. This can be particularly dangerous for retail investors with low levels of financial literacy, who may be more vulnerable to the risks posed by finfluencers. Thus, the current regulatory framework may not be adequate to protect consumers from the potential harms of financial influencers. This Article starts by briefly examining the current regulatory framework for financial influencers (based on Pflücke 2020 and 2022), including how the EU and five platforms govern it. It then proceeds by critically analysing and proposing targeted and actionable policy considerations to increase fairness and transparency on social media platforms. The Article argues that the current approach is neither evidence-based nor tailored to the activities and potential harms of financial influencers, requiring radical reforms to protect consumers and capital markets. [less ▲]

The Medieval Judicial Ordeals

in Network for Medieval Arts & Rituals (NetMAR (2023)

Discusses medieval judicial ordeals and shows what judges did when they had not enough proof to declare an accused individual guilty.

Let’s Talk it through, anew: Promises and Pitfalls of Customisable Conversational Reflection Support

Scientific Conference (2023, April 28)

As modern lifestyles are becoming increasingly stressful and ever more hectic with multiple stimuli constantly competing for our attention, Affective Disorders (ADs) such as anxiety and depression are on ... [more ▼]

As modern lifestyles are becoming increasingly stressful and ever more hectic with multiple stimuli constantly competing for our attention, Affective Disorders (ADs) such as anxiety and depression are on the rise. Consequently, due to the burgeoning demand for counseling and therapeutic services, many people who suffer from ADs are struggling to timely access the professional support that they require. To address this problem, voice-enabled Conversational Agents (CAs) have been recently proposed as tools for supporting self-reflection and providing assistance in managing a range of ADs through synthetic voices. However, despite their therapeutic potential, CAs offer a very limited choice when it comes to selection and personalisation of synthetic voices used. The goal of this paper is two-fold: (1) it discusses the potential benefits that a CA’s voice customisation can bring to enhance user engagement and promote long term self-reflection, and (2) it offers reflection on the corresponding challenges associated to this approach. [less ▲]

“The Effectiveness of Right to Family Reunification” (Afrin, C-1/23 PPU)

Article for general public (2023)

Invoking Denial of Benefits Clauses in Wartime: Lessons from the Ukrainian Crisis

Scientific Conference (2023, April 27)

Pourquoi les femmes ont quitté l'informatique et pourquoi ce n’est pas une fatalité…

Presentation (2023, April 27)

Notre défi sera de mieux comprendre l'évolution historique qui, depuis les années 1950, a conduit à la désaffection progressive des femmes pour les études d'informatique. Cette tendance n'est pas sans ... [more ▼]

Notre défi sera de mieux comprendre l'évolution historique qui, depuis les années 1950, a conduit à la désaffection progressive des femmes pour les études d'informatique. Cette tendance n'est pas sans conséquence sur les usages, les pratiques, les produits et applications numériques. Elle est manifeste dans les représentations, les métiers, les programmes ou encore les algorithmes. Qu’est-il arrivé aux « Computer Girls » enthousiastes des origines ? [less ▲]

Three Essays on the General Equilibrium Effects of Human Interactions

Doctoral thesis (2023)

The overarching theme of this PhD thesis is human mobility and its externalities, particularly in the context of labour and health economics. Through rigorous modelling and analysis, the three chapters of ... [more ▼]

The overarching theme of this PhD thesis is human mobility and its externalities, particularly in the context of labour and health economics. Through rigorous modelling and analysis, the three chapters of the thesis demonstrate the potential benefits of policies that regulate human mobility. In the first chapter of my PhD, I examine how language training can improve the functioning of the labour market, with a particular focus on immigrants with high skills who face language barriers. I argue that fully funding the cost of language acquisition for migrants can bring significant benefits to the economy and migrants, but may marginally worsen the labour market performance of low-skilled natives. Using a search and matching framework with two-dimensional skill heterogeneity, I model the effects of a language acquisition subsidy on migrants' labour market integration and its impact on natives' labour market performance. My study finds that subsidizing language acquisition costs may increase the GDP of the German economy by approximately ten billion dollars by decreasing the aggregate unemployment rate and skill mismatch rate and increasing the share of job vacancies requiring high generic skills. The second chapter of my PhD explores the challenges involved in devising social contact limitation policies as a means of controlling infectious disease transmission. Using an economic-epidemiological model of COVID-19 transmission, I evaluate the effectiveness of different intervention strategies and their consequences on public health, social welfare and economic outcomes. The findings emphasize the importance of responsiveness in implementing social contact limitations, rather than solely focusing on their stringency, and suggest that early interventions lead to the lowest losses in economy and mental well-being for a given number of life losses. The study has broader implications for managing the societal impact of infectious diseases and highlights the need to continue refining our understanding of these trade-offs and developing adaptable models and policy tools to safeguard public health while minimizing social and economic consequences. Overall, the study offers a robust and versatile framework for understanding and navigating the challenges posed by public health crises and pandemics. The third chapter of my PhD builds on the economic-epidemiological model developed in Chapter 2 to analyze the multifaceted effects of vaccine hesitancy in controlling the spread of infectious diseases, with a particular focus on the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. The study utilizes actual vaccination rates by age group until June 2021 and simulates the following months by incorporating realistic properties such as temporary immunity, age-specific vaccination hesitancy rates, daily vaccination capacity, and vaccine efficacy rate. The baseline scenario with an overall 27.1$\%$ vaccine hesitancy rate indicates that current vaccination rates in Belgium are sufficient to control the spread of COVID-19 without imposing social contact limitations. However, hypothetical scenarios with higher disease transmission rates demonstrate the high costs of vaccine hesitancy, resulting in significant losses in labour supply, mental well-being, and life losses. Throughout this thesis, I have described the costs and benefits induced by mobility, and shown that mobility policies make winners and losers. In Chapter 1, subsidizing the cost of language acquisition for migrants can bring significant benefits to the economy and migrants, but may marginally worsen the labour market performance of low-skilled natives. In Chapter 2, stringent policies alleviate health losses, but they impact economic activity and mental health. In Chapter 3, the health externalities generated by human interactions impose a potential tradeoff between values, namely the freedom to move and the freedom to choose to get vaccinated. In each of these chapters, I quantify these tradeoffs. Another important insight from this thesis is the need to incorporate behavioural aspects into macro models evaluating the consequences of policies related to human mobility. In the thesis, these aspects include individual investments in language training, decision-making on infection avoidance, social contacts, labour supply, and vaccination decisions. can lead to more effective policies that balance the interests of various stakeholders. Overall, this thesis contributes to the literature on human mobility by highlighting the potential benefits and challenges associated with it, and the need for nuanced and responsive policymaking that takes into account behavioural aspects and externalities. The insights gained from this thesis can be relevant for future research in economics on topics related to human mobility, public health, and labour market integration. [less ▲]

Convergence of national prudential supervision under the European Single Supervisory Mechanism

Doctoral thesis (2023)

This dissertation starts with an overview of the recent and ongoing efforts to achieve greater convergence in national banking supervision within the European Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). However ... [more ▼]

This dissertation starts with an overview of the recent and ongoing efforts to achieve greater convergence in national banking supervision within the European Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). However, the persistence of distinct national preferences on banking supervision has resulted in ongoing differences in the practice of banking supervision at the national level. More specifically, the supervision of Less Significant Institutions (LSIs) has remained under the direct control of national supervisors and to, a certain extent, under national law, thus allowing significant ongoing margin of manoeuvre on supervision. This dissertation examines the consequences of this margin for manoeuvre left to national supervisors, despite strong convergence pressures through post-financial crisis EU institutional developments. The analysis focus upon the national supervision of LSIs. The main research question guiding this work is, therefore: under what conditions do pre-existing national institutional configurations continue to determine the trajectory of national supervisory practice in the context of European-level convergence pressures (through the European Banking Authority and the SSM)? To answer this question, I use a four-part analytical framework based on, first, Europeanisation which provides insight into top-down processes of integration, second, Historical Institutionalism which provides an understanding of path dependency from earlier policy decisions shaping national supervisory institutions and practice, third, the Epistemic Communities approach and fourth Transnational Policy Network framework. Based on this combined analytical framework, I formulate the following hypothesis: the more discretion exercised by the national supervisor in relation to its government, the more likely the adoption of policies and practices that result in greater convergence with the rules and practices developed at the EU / Banking Union level. To test this hypothesis, I start with a broad assessment of the provisions that provide margin of manoeuvre to national authorities, specifically the options and national discretions (ONDs) explicitly granted to national authorities — member state governments or supervisors — in EU capital requirements legislation: the CRD IV/V and CRR I/II. This assessment provides an initial confirmation of my hypothesis, showing a more important degree of convergence in the cases where national supervisors benefit from full discretion with no intervention from national governments. I then test the hypothesis on a typical case where NCAs can exercise discretion — the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP) — and a typical case with national government intervention that limits supervisory discretion — Non Performing Loans (NPLs). Through an analysis of the French and German national cases with regard to SREP and NPLs, I conclude that the convergence of prudential supervision within the SSM was largely observed in cases where the national supervisor benefitted from discretion as a result of cooperation opportunities and socialisation processes. [less ▲]