Dealing with challenges associated to digital platforms is currently one of the top three priorities according to the European Commission’s Digital Single Market strategy. Platforms can create immense value for the economy, online commerce and drive up productivity. But, at the same time, they have been disruptive and source of regulatory controversy. By design, in the core of platforms’ business models there are algorithms which are based on machine learning principles and use personal data as input to match efficiently and at real time supply with demand. This project analyses the dynamic impact of digital platforms on markets and consumers and addresses challenges that are associated with their disruptive operation, using a novel and multi-level economic approach. At the same time, it also explores the impact of algorithmic design and automated systems in decision making, market competition and society. The research agenda is separated in 3 chapters. The first chapter deals with algorithmic competition and evaluates whether big data raise entry barriers and what the incentives of algorithmic systems to discriminate are. It also assesses policy measures to increase algorithmic transparency and accountability. The second chapter deals with the dynamic nature of digital platforms. A firm with significant market power today might not be in the position to conserve its market power tomorrow because of the entry of, or drastic innovation by competitors. The chapter develops a methodology that defines a robust measure of future potential competition. It also provides insights over the creation and expansion of digital platforms in EU and US and illustrates firms' equilibrium market strategies in fast growing markets. Chapter 3 deals with the impact of automation on employment. By estimating the impact of the introduction of robots in EU industries on labor, it identifies the associated labor displacement and productivity effects and the optimal policy response.

The baby boomers are in the process of retiring. Most are between 60 and 65 when they retire and almost 80% self-assess their health as good. A huge number of research projects has analyzed retirement decisions and the impact of this “pension wave” on the transformation of pension systems in the ageing societies in Europe and elsewhere. There is no lack of pension finance projections and policy advice for pension reforms and their socio-economic effects, including active ageing and the role of elder citizens in transforming our economies into “silver economies”. Much less is known about the second great transformation that will follow the pension wave. In the mid2030s, the health of the baby boomers will have deteriorated and many in these large cohorts will be in need of formal and/or informal long-term care. This “care wave” will transform two generations: the baby boomers in need of care and their children who may supply care. It will have significant implications for labour supply, especially for women, saving behaviour, and therefore for productivity, economic growth and its inclusiveness. The overarching objective of BB-Future is to make a concerted effort to understand the size and the implications of the care wave on economic and social outcomes, to appreciate the quality of this second ageing-related transformation and to develop policy recommendations for advance planning on the EU and MS levels.

This consortium recognises the resurgence of China as a top tier great power is changing the world, and the EU needs to develop a long-term approach based on knowledge to engage strategically with the resurgent and increasingly assertive China as well as the global changes unleashed thereby, including the process of selective ‘de-coupling’ and persistent US-China tension. To assist this, this consortium will bring together some of the best researchers across seven countries to work in a synergetic way to build up a world class independent knowledge base on China in Europe. We will do so by engaging in critical scientific research, nurturing a generation of younger scholars and building up a collaborative network that endures. The key subjects we will address will cover all the key areas identified in the Horizon call, namely, society and culture, politics, economy and foreign policy. Furthermore, this consortium will prioritise impact and dissemination for the EU, the corporate world, the media and the wider public across Europe. The building up of independent knowledge on a resurgent China will enable the EU to better deal with it.