Our research agenda focuses on two interrelated themes. First, we investigate the barriers and drivers of human capital supply, specifically analyzing how local institutional quality and economic structures facilitate the adaptation of critical competencies in fast-changing environments. We critically evaluate the modernization of education to identify effective strategies and explore how lagging regions can strategically invest in human capital to enhance their participation in high-complexity global value chains.

Second, we address vulnerability and inclusivity in human capital demand in the context of major socio-technical transitions by focusing on changes in employment opportunities, skill demand, and working conditions. Central to our work is the identification of distributional effects—identifying the winners and losers of these transitions—while uncovering the causes of socio-economic exclusion across territories and demographics to determine if these forces are self-reinforcing.