Towards a more equal and fair society: Nova SBE as an international reference institution in addressing inequalities’ drivers and effects.

Inequality is among the most pressing issues of our times. The world has been fast-changing in recent years and the pandemic crisis has put a spotlight on economic inequalities and fragile social safety nets that leave vulnerable communities to bear the brunt of the crisis. The outbreak of a war in Ukraine, with millions of refugees and unforeseen impacts worldwide, will most likely worsen the current situation.It is urgent to tackle inequalities in a comprehensive way, designing public policies grounded on solid knowledge. However, there is still a lack of basic information. Economic growth numbers are published every year, but they do not tell us about how growth is distributed across the population, who gains and who loses from economic policies. Besides, beyond income and wealth, it is also critical to address other dimensions of socioeconomic disparities, such as health, education, gender, or environmental inequalities. Therefore, it is urgent to advance research on inequalities, transfer knowledge to society, and contribute to well-informed, science-based public policies.EQUALNovaERA aims to position Nova School of Business & Economics (Nova SBE) as an international reference in addressing inequalities’ drivers and effects through research, education, and community engagement while contributing to deepening the European Research Area and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. More specifically it will 1) Create a new Research Group on inequalities; 2) Set up an Institute of Public Policies with the mission of contributing to a more equal and fair society through research, education, and community engagement; 3) Position Nova SBE as an international reference institution in addressing inequalities’ drivers and effects through research and education; 4) Promote science-based awareness on inequalities’ drivers and effects to tackle societal grand challenges; 5) Introduce sustainable structural changes at Nova SBE on and beyond the inequalities’ theme.