Dr Silvia Avram

I am a social scientist working at the intersection of sociology of work, social policy and labour economics. My research interests center on economic inequality and the structural mechanisms underpinning it, as well as the role of public policies and institutions in shaping it. My most recent work focused on better understanding the mechanisms behind the gender pay gap, and how the various barriers and constraints women face as a result of gendered social roles translate into labour market inequalities. I’m also interested in better understanding intra-household inequalities and how they are linked to labour market inequalities, as well as in the role of public policy in mitigating inequality more generally.

Some of the topics that I’m interested in are:

• commuting costs and gender wage gap
• job mobility and the gender wage gap
• wage progression out of low paid work
• employer driven flexibility and wage penalties and premia
• the role of transfers in shaping reservation wages
• the impact of taxes and transfers on income inequality and poverty
• the measurement and drivers of intra-household inequality
• the management and transmission of debt between partners
• understanding vulnerability to problem debt