On 24 June 2025, the WeLaR team met with its Advisory Board members, Marco Pianta, Andrew Clark, Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak, and Christoph T. Weiss.
During the meeting, WeLaR researchers presented key findings from their ongoing work and received feedback and suggestions. The exchange offered a constructive opportunity to reflect on project progress and plan out the final months of the project.
To kick off the meeting, Marko Vladisavljević presented research on Europeans’ preferences for redistribution and demand for redistributive policies. His team sought to link these views to voting behaviour and the positions of European political parties, an area that remains under-investigated. Using data from 31 countries from 2002-23, the researchers attempted to examine the preference for redistribution (PFR) in the context of inequality and personal values. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the fiscal austerity it inspired, there was an increase in PFR; the response to Covid, which featured strong redistribution in many countries, was followed by a decrease. The study found that PFR is a strong predictor of voting behaviour, though conservative ideology, low trust in institutions and anti-migrant views may lead people with high PFR to support parties that favour right-wing economic policies. After further work, the team plans to transform its research results into an academic paper.
Next, Ilda Durri presented findings on the EU’s Platform Work Directive (PWD), attempting to answer the question of whether it’s a milestone or a nothingburger; her conclusion was that it’s a “qualified milestone”. She found that the directive is groundbreaking in that it covers all types of platform work and forms of employment. It introduces a rebuttable presumption of employment – an important tool, though not a panacea. It’s also the first time algorithmic management is regulated in the work context. Algorithmic decision-making must become more transparent, with a “human-in-the-loop” approach including the right to an explanation and human review of algorithmic decisions. That and other provisions will require platforms to allocate more human resources. The Directive also strengthens collective labour rights, including by requiring platforms to create channels for workers to communicate with each other and with employee representatives. This presentation was linked to the WeLaR policy report, which covers the four megatrends.
Holger Stichnoth presented a WeLaR report examining the net fiscal contribution of migrants to the German budget in 2018 and showing that the overall budgetary impact of migration was minimal. The study found differences between German citizens, EU migrants, and non-EU migrants. On a per capita basis, the average net contribution was slightly positive for German nationals at €629, significantly higher for EU migrants at over €3,000, and negative for non-EU nationals at €2,600. When scaled to population size, this resulted in a €45 billion surplus from German nationals, a positive contribution of €13 billion from EU nationals, and a €16 billion deficit from non-EU migrants, far lower than the €50 billion figure often claimed by far-right narratives. Moreover, when combining the fiscal contributions of all foreigners in Germany, the result was a very small deficit, amounting to just 0.07% of GDP. These findings clearly indicate that, contrary to common misconceptions, the fiscal impact of migration on the German budget is negligible.
Piotr Lewandowski presented preliminary findings from an ongoing study exploring attitudes of platform workers toward welfare provisions typical for a standard job contract. To understand how they value different job-related benefits, the researchers conducted a discrete choice experiment focused on two provisions: sick pay and paid leave. The preliminary results show that while platform workers are generally willing to forgo some income in exchange for welfare protections, their willingness to pay for sick leave is relatively modest, with a stronger preference shown for paid leave. However, even the value placed on paid leave remains lower than that observed in the general population, reflecting the trade-offs these workers make between flexibility and security. Interestingly, the study also finds that those who turn to platform work out of necessity, rather than by choice, are significantly more willing to pay for both job amenities compared to those who choose platform work for flexibility it offers.
After the project’s final conference, general assembly and executive board meeting earlier in June, WeLaR is winding down in July and August with one paper remaining to be delivered, as well as a webinar on the foresight report, a final newsletter and one more open virtual expert cafe. The advisory board reported that all deliverables are on track to be completed on time.
