Think
Research on Inclusive Economy
Our mission: Combine original data collection and rigorous scientific research in order to offer reliable solutions for decision-makers seeking to further economic inclusion and expand economic opportunity for all.
Our research center led by Professor Marieke Huysentruyt aims at answering the question: How can business help build a more inclusive society?
We work on different topics such as:
Working papers
- Supporting platform complementors from disadvantaged communities: Evidence from a field experiment (Nardi)
- Exposure to social issues and the financial materiality of corporate social responsibility investments (Nardi & Huysentruyt)
- Supporting platform complementors from disadvantaged communities: Evidence from a field experiment (Nardi)
- Exposure to social issues and the financial materiality of corporate social responsibility investments (Nardi & Huysentruyt)Computational
- Text Analysis of the Effects of Semantic Alignment on Beneficiaries’ Ability to Access Social Benefits (Gouvard & Huysentruyt)
- Grassroots-Oriented Corporate Philanthropy as Extension of Firms’ Core Business Activities in China (Zhuang)
White paper
- Social Justice & Organizations. (Durand, Hill & Marieke Huysentruyt)
We propose two ways: Assessing social impact and Experimenting through our lab
Assessing social impact
We strive to understand the social impact of businesses and develop strategies to help businesses improve their social impact
Some examples of on-going projects: We study the impact of
- wage transparency on gender wage equity and equality
- transparency about inequality linked to the production of goods on consumers’ purchasing decisions
- communication frames on corporate social initiatives’ efficacy to engage with its target beneficiaries
- exposure to the refugee crisis on corporations’ choices regarding their portfolio of social policies
- the way social housing agencies interact with their tenants on their risk of rent arrears and eviction
- governance of health centers on maternal and child health outcomes.
In 2021-2022: On these topics, we published 4 practitioner reports and articles targeted at practitioners and over 10 publications and working papers.
Experimenting through our lab
We apply behavioral insights to develop new strategies for businesses to improve their social impact, we test them in the field, we evaluate their effectiveness and help scale them to impact as many lives as possible.
Discover
We develop and experiment with solutions that reflect how people actually make decisions and take action. And we apply what we discover to help businesses enhance the impact of their policies, programs, products and services
Scale
We are committed not only to identifying promising solutions to tough problems but also scaling them to impact as many lives as possible.
Focus on Research
Impact report publications
What Gets Measured: Social factor coverage in corporate ESG frameworks
The researchers of the S&O Inclusive Economy Center joined forces with S&P Global Ratings to take stock of the most influential ESG frameworks currently in use and ask: What social factors do these frameworks actually cover, and what factors are being left out?
Download and read the report
Inclusive Business: What it is and Why it matters
We explain what an inclusive economy means to us and detail barriers to inclusion and levers that businesses can use to remove these obstacles.
Download and Read the Report
Are your social initiatives making the right impact?
S&O has published a Social Impact Assessment Strategy Report, your toolkit for better social impact measurement.
Download the report
What you need to know about Sustainability and CSR
These 19 factsheets summarize, on a single page and in a simple and easily understandable language, academic and practical knowledge on various CSR-related topics: the Sustainable Development Goals, the triple bottom line, inclusive business, social business..
Have a look at our collection of 19 factsheets