Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies

26/06/2026

We are pleased to share our latest FREE Policy Brief on health literacy in Latvia.

In this brief, our researchers examine how health literacy affects people's ability to access, understand, evaluate, and use health information, and discuss policy implications for reducing health inequalities.

This research is funded by the Latvian Council of Science project "Health Literacy Study in Latvia: Levels, Burdens and Interventions" (Project No. Izp-2024/1-0543).

💡 Can better health communication reduce inequality?
https://freepolicybriefs.org/2026/06/22/health-literacy-in-latvia-a-public-health-challenge-shaped-by-socio-economic-inequality/

🔎 Mara Dzene, Agnes Lublóy and Zane Vārpiņa examine why many adults struggle to access, understand, evaluate, and apply health information in everyday decisions.

📚 Explore more policy briefs on health policy: https://freepolicybriefs.org/topics/health-policy/

18/05/2026

We are pleased to share this new FREE Network Policy Brief by Marija Krumina and Zane Varpina on retaining third-country graduates in Latvia.

The brief draws on research conducted within the project “Ārvalstu talanta noturēšana Latvijā” (2025.LV/NVOF/MAC/123), implemented by the association Ar pasaules pieredzi Latvijā

🎓 Labor shortages are a growing challenge across Europe. Could retaining international graduates be part of the solution?
https://freepolicybriefs.org/2026/05/13/retaining-third-country-graduates-in-latvia/

🔎 Marija Krumina from the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies and Zane Varpina from the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga examine Latvia’s challenge of retaining skilled third-country nationals.

📚 Explore more policy briefs on labor economics: https://freepolicybriefs.org/topics/labor-economics/

24/03/2026

We are happy to share this upcoming 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫, focusing on one of the most debated topics today: remote work, productivity, and innovation.
A special highlight for us — 𝐌𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐒, will be among the speakers. His presentation is based on his recent joint article with Nicolas Gavoille:
“Personality traits, remote work and productivity” (International Labour Review, 2025).
The webinar brings together new research exploring when remote work enhances productivity — and whether it may come at the cost of creativity and innovation.
📅 10 April
💻 Online
Join the discussion to learn what the latest evidence tells us about the future of work.
Register here: c2020286-48c6-4361-9570-82f07cbb9fbd@487175ce-c313-4417-91bc-dc3b6721b8ee" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/c2020286-48c6-4361-9570-82f07cbb9fbd@487175ce-c313-4417-91bc-dc3b6721b8ee

🌍 Global Work from Home Day Webinar
Remote Work: Boosting Productivity, Killing Innovation?

Research increasingly shows that remote work can boost productivity — but only under certain conditions. What those conditions are, however, remains far from clear. At the same time, we still know much less about how remote work affects creativity and innovation within firms.

Join our webinar on 10 April to explore new research shedding light on these questions.

🎤 Speakers

• Ludivine Martin (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research – LISER / IZA@LISER)
How do High-Performance Work Practices shape Employers’ Perceptions of Productivity and Innovativeness? The Mediating Role of Working-from-Home Friendliness

• Davide Rigo (University of Birmingham)
Work from Home and Firm Productivity: The Role of ICT and Size

• Mihails Hazans (University of Latvia / Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies / IZA@LISER)
Personality Traits, Remote Work and Productivity

📅 10 April
💻 Online webinar

Join the discussion and discover what the latest evidence tells us about remote work, productivity, and innovation.

Links in first comment and on our website!

13/11/2025

Our colleague Anna Pluta participated in the Nordic Alcohol and Drug Researchers' Assembly (NADRA) 2025, presenting results from the study:

“A study on alcohol consumption, its consequences and the economic benefits of measures preventing alcohol abuse in Latvia.”

The study was implemented from September 2022 to September 2023 as part of the ESF project “Complex health promotion and disease prevention measures” (ID No. 9.2.4.1/16/I/001), commissioned by the Ministry of Health, under OPEN TENDER No. VM 2022/17/ESF and Service Contract No. 01-33.2.2/135.

We are proud to contribute to evidence-based policy discussions on alcohol-related harm and prevention in Latvia.

🔗 Event information:

Join us in Riga as Nordic and Baltic voices come together to discuss the future of alcohol and drug policy.

04/08/2025

From Latvia to Ghana – tradition meets technology!

Together with Farmerline and local partners, we brought indigenous farming knowledge to life using AI-powered voice messages in local languages, helping farmers adapt to climate change and strengthen food security.

Watch the story of how Latvian research and African agtech came together to build climate resilience across continents.

04/08/2025

Proud to see our collaboration with Farmerline, LPA, and CSIR-SARI featured!

Together, we combined Latvian policy expertise with African agtech innovation to support climate-smart farming, preserve indigenous knowledge, and strengthen food security.

This partnership is a perfect example of mutual learning and how tradition and technology can work hand in hand for a resilient future.

19/06/2025

12/06/2025

🇱🇻 With 60.4% of adults overweight, can Latvia afford to ignore food policy reform?
https://freepolicybriefs.org/2025/06/09/excise-tax-sugar-salt/

🔎 Marija Krumina and Anna Pluta from Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies explore the impact of taxing salty and sugary foods in their latest policy brief:

📚 Read more policy briefs on health policy: https://freepolicybriefs.org/topics/health-policy/

03/02/2025

🚗 Is congestion pricing just another tax, or could it actually work for everyone?
https://freepolicybriefs.org/2025/02/03/congestion-pricing/

📌 Sergejs Gubins from the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies explains why the cashback mechanism could be a game-changer in solving road congestion problems.

📚 Explore more policy briefs on environmental economics:
https://freepolicybriefs.org/topics/environmental-economics/