Prof. Andrew Clark (Paris School of Economics) at the Faculty of Economic Sciences

Prof. Andrew Clark from the Paris School of Economics will be a guest at the Faculty of Economic Sciences. On 23 February, Prof. Clark will present the results of a study entitled “Poverty Gets Under the Skin: UK Evidence from Biological Aging”. The publication is co-authored by Dr Chiara Costi (University of Verona), Dr Giorgia Menta (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research), Dr Juan C. Caro (University of Concepcion) and Prof. Conchita D'Ambrosio (University of Luxembourg).

Prof. Clark’s research focuses on behavioral economics and on topics related to health, happiness, and well-being. In his work, he uses data on job and life satisfaction to analyse labour market phenomena. His research interests also include applied microeconomics, job quality, social interactions, and social learning. More information about the speaker as well as his latest publications is available at: https://www.parisschoolofeconomics.eu/en/persons/andrew-clark/

The lecture will begin at 11:30 in Auditorium B. We warmly encourage you to review the abstract of the presentation provided below and to join the seminar.

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Do adverse economic conditions make us older? Age acceleration can be measured by epigenetic clocks, which compare an individual's biological age to their chronological age. In a representative sample of UK adults from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) we related age acceleration to a number of aspects of poverty. Contemporaneous poverty, both in terms of incidence and intensity, is associated with faster aging. Using the panel aspect of the UKHLS, poverty scars: those who have been poor in the past also age faster, even if they are no longer in poverty. Age acceleration is potentially reversible, so that public policy can make people biologically younger.