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Speaker: Matija Kovacic, Joint Research Centre
Abstract
The main objective of the seminar is to present the first EU-wide survey measuring loneliness through established multi-item scales.
This was launched by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) - the European Commission’s science and knowledge service - in cooperation with the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion in the context of a European Parliament pilot project on monitoring loneliness in Europe.
The survey also includes detailed information on social isolation, initiatives addressing loneliness, as well as individual views about loneliness and social isolation in society.
Moreover, it covers relevant individual characteristics and behaviours, such as social media use, trust and civic engagement, health status, childhood experiences, and standard socio-demographic characteristics.
The presentation will also offer a discussion on the existing survey-elicited measures of loneliness, as well as their limitations.
Furthermore, it will present an overview of the main results on the prevalence of loneliness in the European Union along several dimensions, exploring vulnerabilities within specific demographic groups and mitigating or triggering factors such as meaningful social connections and life events.
Finally, the discussion will be complemented with a presentation of the results from research estimating the causal effect of loneliness on several physical and mental health issues in the European context.
About the speaker
Matija Kovacic is a research economist and policy analyst at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
Matija holds a PhD in Economics from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
His research interests are in empirical microeconomics and population economics, with an emphasis on inequality, determinants of individual preferences, and social and cultural diversity.
Matija’s research has been published in several journals, including Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Population Economics, Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation, Social Choice and Welfare, Journal of Peace Research, among others.
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