United Nations Statistical Commission side event: The Luxembourg Income Study: 40 Years of Data, Research, and Beyond

On the 29th of February, the Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the United Nations and the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Cross-National Data Center have organised a side event to the 55th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission:

The Luxembourg Income Study: 40 Years of Data, Research, and Beyond
Ensuring free access to the LIS Data for United Nations Agencies.

Organised at the beautiful Luxembourg House in New York, the event aimed to increase the utilisation of the resources provided by the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) among the staff of the United Nations entities, who have the opportunity to access it at no cost thanks to a generous contribution from the Department of Cooperation of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By providing insights into the LIS data, the event thus increased awareness and understanding of the extensive research opportunities available through the LIS datasets across various fields.

Ambassador Olivier Maes, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations, opened the event with a welcome address, followed by remarks from Serge Allegrezza, Director General of the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (STATEC). Throughout the event, three speakers underscored the diverse research opportunities facilitated by the LIS data and reinforced the practical utility and vast potential of LIS data across various research domains. Janet Gornick, Director of the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, home to the U.S. Office of LIS, presented LIS and the research conducted with LIS data, while Marta Roig, Chief of the Emerging Issues and Trends in Development Section of the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), presented findings of the 2023 World Social Report, which are fully based on LIS data and deals with the topic of age and gender-based poverty gaps. Finally, Heriberto Tapia, Research and Strategic Partnership Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), presented evidence from the Human Development Report, thus exemplifying how the LIS data, and more generally household data, contribute to the comprehensive understanding of human development indicators.

A lively discussion closed the event, which was attended by staffs of various UN entities, among which UN DESA, UNDP, UN-Women, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNEP, ECLAC, ESCWA, as well as the World Bank.

Front row, Heriberto Tapia (UNDP), Marta Roig (UN DESA), Serge Allegrezza (STATEC), and Teresa Munzi (LIS).