Senior Research Associate Martina Pezer participated in the 1st European Symposium on Policy Modelling (ESPM), held on 25 March 2026 at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. Organised within the Erasmus+ ecoMod project, the symposium brought together researchers and policy experts from a range of European institutions to discuss current developments in policy modelling and their relevance for evidence-based policymaking.

The programme was structured around three thematic clusters covering carbon taxation and policy responses to cost-of-living pressures, inequality across time, space and countries, and pension systems and reforms. Across these themes, the symposium highlighted the growing importance of data-rich approaches, microsimulation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the integration of new analytical methods, including AI-related applications, in the development of policy models that are both scientifically rigorous and practically relevant.

As part of the programme, Martina Pezer presented the research Consumption Patterns, Inflation, and Household Welfare: Demand-Based Equivalence Scales in Europe. The study examines how household income is adjusted for household size and composition across Europe using equivalence scales and shows that the choice of scale can have important implications for poverty and inequality estimates. Based on evidence for 23 European countries, the research also points to stronger economies of scale than those implied by the modified OECD scale, with additional indications that recent inflationary pressures may have further affected equivalence scales, particularly for households with children.

The symposium provided an important platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience among researchers working at the intersection of data, modelling, and public policy, and contributed to strengthening collaboration across institutions engaged in the analysis of major socio-economic challenges in Europe.

Participation in the symposium was funded as part of the project Social Protection, Taxation, and Social Welfare in Croatia, funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU).