The economic integration of the Nordic-Baltic region through labor, innovation, investments and trade – LIFT
Research teams
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Lithuania)
Prof. dr. Manuela Tvaronavičienė is a principal investigator, an economist, professor at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, with research interests in sustainable development, investment, innovation, entrepreneurship. She is the author of numerous publications in those areas. She is a principal co-editor of a newly published book “Energy Transformation towards Sustainability”. (publisher Elsevier). M. Tvaronavičienė has led the following projects: “Energetically secure and sustainable restructuring of Lithuanian industry sectors in the context of world economy development tendencies”, which is a part of Long-term institutional Economic research program for 2012-2014 years; “Challenges of long-term competitiveness of Lithuanian economy” the 7th FP (Marie Curie), International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IRSES, Grant Agreement Number 319017 SHuMED (2013-2015) and Horizon 2020 (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2014) Cluster Development Med (2015-2019) Grant Agreement Number 645730 (on-going). She is the expert of Scientific Council of Lithuania, of National Center of Science and Technology Evaluation Ministry of Education and Science Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan, Expert of European Commission for Horizon 2020 Global (expert EX2006C173821, Contract number CT-EX2006C17821-101) for years 2016-2018 H2020-SC6-ENGGLOBALLY-2016-1 (Europe in a Changing World – inclusive, innovative and reflective societies). Under prof. Manuela Tvaronavičienė supervision four doctoral students have successfully defended their PhD thesis.
Prof. dr. Manuela Tvaronavičienė is a principal investigator, an economist, professor at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, with research interests in sustainable development, investment, innovation, entrepreneurship. She is the author of numerous publications in those areas. She is a principal co-editor of a newly published book “Energy Transformation towards Sustainability”. (publisher Elsevier). M. Tvaronavičienė has led the following projects: “Energetically secure and sustainable restructuring of Lithuanian industry sectors in the context of world economy development tendencies”, which is a part of Long-term institutional Economic research program for 2012-2014 years; “Challenges of long-term competitiveness of Lithuanian economy” the 7th FP (Marie Curie), International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IRSES, Grant Agreement Number 319017 SHuMED (2013-2015) and Horizon 2020 (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2014) Cluster Development Med (2015-2019) Grant Agreement Number 645730 (on-going). She is the expert of Scientific Council of Lithuania, of National Center of Science and Technology Evaluation Ministry of Education and Science Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan, Expert of European Commission for Horizon 2020 Global (expert EX2006C173821, Contract number CT-EX2006C17821-101) for years 2016-2018 H2020-SC6-ENGGLOBALLY-2016-1 (Europe in a Changing World – inclusive, innovative and reflective societies). Under prof. Manuela Tvaronavičienė supervision four doctoral students have successfully defended their PhD thesis.
Agnė Šimelytė is associate professor at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Her research interests cover FDI, economic growth, innovation, and sustainable development. She holds PhD in Management from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. She is author or co-authors of more than 30 scientific articles, two handbooks, two monographs. In 2012 she received the award for the best scientific research of PhD students, in 2013 she received promotional scholarship for doctoral candidates from Research Council of Lithuania. A. Šimelytė gives lectures for bachelor and master students. Agnė Šimelytė has participated in the following projects financed by European Union: 7th framework program (Marie Curie), International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IRSES, Grant Agreement Number 319017 SHuMED (2013-2015). Her role in the project is to contribute to the analysis of working package 2 with economic estimations.
Agnė Šimelytė is associate professor at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Her research interests cover FDI, economic growth, innovation, and sustainable development. She holds PhD in Management from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. She is author or co-authors of more than 30 scientific articles, two handbooks, two monographs. In 2012 she received the award for the best scientific research of PhD students, in 2013 she received promotional scholarship for doctoral candidates from Research Council of Lithuania. A. Šimelytė gives lectures for bachelor and master students. Agnė Šimelytė has participated in the following projects financed by European Union: 7th framework program (Marie Curie), International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IRSES, Grant Agreement Number 319017 SHuMED (2013-2015). Her role in the project is to contribute to the analysis of working package 2 with economic estimations.
Kristina Razminienė has finished her PhD studies in social sciences (economics – S 004) and defended her dissertation “Evaluation of cluster performance in transition to circular economy” in 2021 at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Her research covers clusters as groups of companies and associated institutions supplementing others by completing vertical and horizontal links using geographical proximity to achieve competitive advantage through cooperation. Kristina published articles in scientific journals included in the Web of Science (Claritive Analytics) Emerging Sources Citation Index and presented her work at international scientific conferences. Since 2014 she is working as a lecturer at VilniusTech Faculty of Business Management. Kristina participated in the following projects financed by European Union: 7th FRAMEWORK PROGRAMM, (Marie Curie), International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IRSES, Grant Agreement Number 319017 SHuMED (2013-2015) and Horizon 2020 (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2014) Cluster Development Med (2015-2019) Grant Agreement Number 645730.
Kristina Razminienė has finished her PhD studies in social sciences (economics – S 004) and defended her dissertation “Evaluation of cluster performance in transition to circular economy” in 2021 at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Her research covers clusters as groups of
Arūnas Burinskas is an associate professor in the Department of Economic Policy, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Vilnius University. He has published over 30 publications in scientific journals and books. He has 10 years’ experience in teaching lectures on microeconomics, economic theory, economics research methods, competition policy and practice. Dr A. Burinskas participated in the MIM 2022 conference with presentation “The Development of Market Structure of Heterogeneous Firms”. A. Burinskas passed courses organised by International Monetary Fund and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2017. His international expertise includes lectures at the University of Zlin, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, and Maribor University.
Arūnas Burinskas is an associate professor in the Department of Economic Policy, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Vilnius University. He has published over 30 publications in scientific journals and books. He has 10 years’ experience in teaching lectures on microeconomics, economic theory, economics research methods, competition policy and practice. Dr A. Burinskas participated in the MIM 2022 conference with presentation “The Development of Market Structure of Heterogeneous Firms”. A. Burinskas passed courses organised by International Monetary Fund and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2017. His international expertise includes lectures at the University of Zlin, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, and Maribor University.
Giedrė Lapinskienė is an associate professor at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Her research interests include sustainable development. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. She is the author or co-author of more than 15 scientific articles, two textbooks, and one monograph. Giedrė Lapinskienė gives lectures to bachelor’s and master’s students.
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Giedrė Lapinskienė is an associate professor at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Her research interests include sustainable development. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. She is the author or co-author of more than 15 scientific articles, two textbooks, and one monograph. Giedrė Lapinskienė gives lectures to bachelor’s and master’s students.Institute of Transport Economics (Norway)
Rasmus Bøgh Holmen is a senior research economist at TOI. He holds a PhD from BI Norwegian Business School in economics on productivity and mobility, and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Oslo. Prior to his employment at TOI, Bøgh Holmen has a six-year experience as a Senior Economist at Menon Economics. He is an experienced project manager with project management in over 40 consultancy projects and participation in more than 100 projects. Holmen possesses in-depth knowledge of regional studies and branch studies. He also possesses advanced methodological competence in the fields of productivity analyses and econometrics.
Rasmus Bøgh Holmen is a senior research economist at TOI. He holds a PhD from BI Norwegian Business School in economics on productivity and mobility, and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Oslo. Prior to his employment at TOI, Bøgh Holmen has a six-year experience as a Senior Economist at Menon Economics. He is an experienced project manager with project management in over 40 consultancy projects and participation in more than 100 projects. Holmen possesses in-depth knowledge of regional studies and branch studies. He also possesses advanced methodological competence in the fields of productivity analyses and econometrics.
Per Botolf Maurseth (Dr.Polit. in Economics from the University of Oslo) is an associate professor at BI – Norwegian Business School and is an associated senior researcher at the Institute of Transport Economics. Maurseth has previously worked as Head of Research at the Department for International Economics at Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and served as state secretary for Minister of Research and Education, Øystein Djupedal (2006-2007). Maurseth’s research interests cover international economics, regional economics and innovation economics. His publications also include articles on economic geography, regional economic growth and knowledge spillovers. Maurseth served as a board member of The Government Pension Fund Norway (2013-2014), member of the Grundt commission on research in the cultural sector (2011-2012), member of the Øie commission to consider regulations of kindergartens – NOU 2012:1 (2010-2012), member of the Olsen commission – NOU 2009:16 (on the relationship between global environmental challenges and national policy). Maurseth has been a visiting lecturer at the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine, visiting researcher at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin, Germany; lecturer at master-level in International Economics, 2002-2004 and 2011, University of Oslo, Department of Economics; lecturer in Russian economic development¸1999-2004, Finnmark University College. Maurseth is also referee for a long list of international scientific journals.
Per Botolf Maurseth (Dr.Polit. in Economics from the University of Oslo) is an associate professor at BI – Norwegian Business School and is an associated senior researcher at the Institute of Transport Economics. Maurseth has previously worked as Head of Research at the Department for International Economics at Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and served as state secretary for Minister of Research and Education, Øystein Djupedal (2006-2007). Maurseth’s research interests cover international economics, regional economics and innovation economics. His publications also include articles on economic geography, regional economic growth and knowledge spillovers. Maurseth served as a board member of The Government Pension Fund Norway (2013-2014), member of the Grundt commission on research in the cultural sector (2011-2012), member of the Øie commission to consider regulations of kindergartens – NOU 2012:1 (2010-2012), member of the Olsen commission – NOU 2009:16 (on the relationship between global environmental challenges and national policy). Maurseth has been a visiting lecturer at the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine, visiting researcher at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin, Germany; lecturer at master-level in International Economics, 2002-2004 and 2011, University of Oslo, Department of Economics; lecturer in Russian economic development¸1999-2004, Finnmark University College. Maurseth is also referee for a long list of international scientific journals.
Kenneth Løvold Rødseth, PhD in Economics, is Senior Research Economist at the Institute of Transport Economics, Norway. His research focuses on transport, energy, and environmental economics using quantitative methods. His thesis is on theoretical and empirical treatment of undesirable outputs in production analysis, and he has undertaken efficiency analyses in several sectors including energy, transport, and construction. He is currently commissioned to review and further develop the existing methodological framework for efficiency analysis of Norwegian municipalities and their service production. Rødseth has published in top-tier journals such as Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, European Journal of Operational Research and Energy Economics.
Kenneth Løvold Rødseth, PhD in Economics, is Senior Research Economist at the Institute of Transport Economics, Norway. His research focuses on transport, energy, and environmental economics using quantitative methods. His thesis is on theoretical and empirical treatment of undesirable outputs in production analysis, and he has undertaken efficiency analyses in several sectors including energy, transport, and construction. He is currently commissioned to review and further develop the existing methodological framework for efficiency analysis of Norwegian municipalities and their service production. Rødseth has published in top-tier journals such as Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, European Journal of Operational Research and Energy Economics.
Kjetil Haukås is a associated research economist at the Institute of Transport Economics. He holds two separate master degrees from Imperial College London (MSc in Finance) and University of Oslo (MPhil Economics). He specializes in econometric analysis, spatial economics, and empirical trade. He is also a strong R programmer and GIS analyst. Haukås will contribute to the research team with applied econometrics as well as general programming skills.
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University of Latvia (Latvia)
Mihails Hazans, Professor at the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics, University of Latvia, research fellow at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics and The Global Labor Organization (GLO) fellow. He has served as an expert, consultant, or principal investigator in numerous projects for European Commission, OECD, the World Bank, ILO, European Training Foundation, USAID, and other international and national institutions. Recently Prof. Hazans contributed to such projects as “An in-depth analysis of the emigration of skilled labour” (for European Commission), “Study of Return Migration to Latvia” (for University of Latvia), “Latvia Tax Review” (for the World Bank), “The Emigrant Communities of Latvia” (funded by the ESF), “Latvia Active Aging” (for the World Bank) and “Latvia – OECD Accession Review” (for OECD). His current research deals with labour market issues with focus on migration, ethnic minorities, informal employment and envelope wages. Prof. Hazans contributed many book chapters and articles in academic journals. He often comments on labour and migration issues in media.
Inta Mieriņa is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences UL, Senior Researcher at IPSUL, director of the Centre for Diaspora and Migration Research. She was principal investigator of the ESF research grant “The emigrant communities of Latvia”. In 2015, she studied the processes of migration as a Fulbright Research Fellow at the University of Washington, and in 2016 – at Yale University. Contributing her expertise on many large-scale international comparative studies, Mieriņa has developed collaboration with scholars in other countries in Europe and beyond. Dr. Mieriņa’s publications have appeared in Social Science Research, The Sociological Review, European Societies, Europe-Asia Studies, and other journals. As an invited speaker Mieriņa has presented on various methodological topics in Latvia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Georgia, and regularly provides policy recommendations in relation to migration issues to policy-makers in Latvia.
Inta Mieriņa is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences UL, Senior Researcher at IPSUL, director of the Centre for Diaspora and Migration Research. She was principal investigator of the ESF research grant “The emigrant communities of Latvia”. In 2015, she studied the processes of migration as a Fulbright Research Fellow at the University of Washington, and in 2016 – at Yale University. Contributing her expertise on many large-scale international comparative studies, Mieriņa has developed collaboration with scholars in other countries in Europe and beyond. Dr. Mieriņa’s publications have appeared in Social Science Research, The Sociological Review, European Societies, Europe-Asia Studies, and other journals. As an invited speaker Mieriņa has presented on various methodological topics in Latvia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Georgia, and regularly provides policy recommendations in relation to migration issues to policy-makers in Latvia.Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies – BICEPS (Latvia)
Nicolas Gavoille is Associate Researcher at the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies and Assistant Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga in quantitative economics. His main research interests are in the field applied microeconometrics, in particular political economy and public economics, with a strong interest in working with individual level data. He published articles in academic reviews such as the European Economic Review, the European Journal of Political Economy, the International Review of Law and Economics and the Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Rennes 1, France, and is the Treasurer of the Baltic Economic Association as well as a member of the Editorial Committee of the Baltic Journal of Economics. He is also a member of the European Public Choice Society, of the French Economic Association, of the FREE Network, the Condorcet Center for Political Economy and is expert for the Latvian Council of Science. He has teaching experience in microeconomics, econometrics, mathematics and game theory.
Nicolas Gavoille is Associate Researcher at the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies and Assistant Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga in quantitative economics. His main research interests are in the field applied microeconometrics, in particular political economy and public economics, with a strong interest in working with individual level data. He published articles in academic reviews such as the European Economic Review, the European Journal of Political Economy, the International Review of Law and Economics and the Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Rennes 1, France, and is the Treasurer of the Baltic Economic Association as well as a member of the Editorial Committee of the Baltic Journal of Economics. He is also a member of the European Public Choice Society, of the French Economic Association, of the FREE Network, the Condorcet Center for Political Economy and is expert for the Latvian Council of Science. He has teaching experience in microeconomics, econometrics, mathematics and game theory.
Jānis Upenieks is a Junior Research Fellow at the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies and a PhD student in Economics at the University of Latvia. He holds a Professional Master’s degree in Socio-Technical Systems Modelling and a Professional Bachelor degree in Information Technology. Jānis has obtained almost 16 years of experience by working in organizations with self-government development issues. He has participated in several international projects related to promotion of public transport accessibility, development of different geography information systems and related data application in evaluation of service accessibility and more effective decision making.
Jānis Upenieks is a Junior Research Fellow at the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies and a PhD student in Economics at the University of Latvia. He holds a Professional Master’s degree in Socio-Technical Systems Modelling and a Professional Bachelor degree in Information Technology. Jānis has obtained almost 16 years of experience by working in organizations with self-government development issues. He has participated in several international projects related to promotion of public transport accessibility, development of different geography information systems and related data application in evaluation of service accessibility and more effective decision making.University of Tartu (Estonia)
Jaan Masso is Head of Chair of Economic Modelling, programme managers of the Master’s Programme in Quantitative Economics and Senior Research Fellow of applied econometrics at the University of Tartu (UT). He has also worked as a visiting researcher at Eesti Pank. He holds a PhD in Economics from the UT since 2005. His main research areas are labour economics, migration, foreign direct investments, innovations, international trade, research policy; thus he has experience in the areas of all the 4 work packages of the project (labour, innovation, FDI, trade). He has participated in various national and international research projects (EU, ILO, OECD, World Bank). His publications include articles in Journal of Comparative Economics, European Journal of Industrial Relations, Eastern European Economics, Economics of Transition, Services Industries Journal, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, International Business Review, Review of World Economics etc. His empirical research makes use of a wide set of different individual-level and firm-level datasets. Under Jaan Masso’s co-supervision 5 PhD students have defended their dissertations and he is currently supervising 6 PhD students. The role of Jaan Masso will be in the project is contributing to the analysis of the migration flows and job polarization (work package 1), effects of FDI on inequalities (work package 3), flows of goods and services on productivity (work package 4) and leading work package 4.
Jaan Masso is Head of Chair of Economic Modelling, programme managers of the Master’s Programme in Quantitative Economics and Senior Research Fellow of applied econometrics at the University of Tartu (UT). He has also worked as a visiting researcher at Eesti Pank. He holds a PhD in Economics from the UT since 2005. His main research areas are labour economics, migration, foreign direct investments, innovations, international trade, research policy; thus he has experience in the areas of all the 4 work packages of the project (labour, innovation, FDI, trade). He has participated in various national and international research projects (EU, ILO, OECD, World Bank). His publications include articles in Journal of Comparative Economics, European Journal of Industrial Relations, Eastern European Economics, Economics of Transition, Services Industries Journal, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, International Business Review, Review of World Economics etc. His empirical research makes use of a wide set of different individual-level and firm-level datasets. Under Jaan Masso’s co-supervision 5 PhD students have defended their dissertations and he is currently supervising 6 PhD students. The role of Jaan Masso will be in the project is contributing to the analysis of the migration flows and job polarization (work package 1), effects of FDI on inequalities (work package 3), flows of goods and services on productivity (work package 4) and leading work package 4.
Tiiu Paas is working as a professor of econometrics at the University of Tartu. Her recent research activities cover topics in assessment of human capital disparities among several groups of population, international labour mobility and attitudes towards immigration, regional disparities and development. In 2009, she received the Estonian National Science Award in Social Science. Under Tiiu Paas’ supervision have been defended 10 doctoral theses. Among them, the PhD thesis “Welfare Effects of Regional Policy in the Constructed Capital Model” by. E. Tafenau was announced as the best PhD thesis in social science in Estonia in 2011. Tiiu Paas is the editor, co-editor, author and co-author of several books, e.g. the book “Modelling the Baltic Sea region economies”. Tiiu Paas has been engaged in several projects on the issues of the Baltic Sea region and regional integration in general, like EU 5th FP project BaltSeaNet, EU 5th FP project Ezoneplus, Estonian Science Foundation project “Modelling Baltic Sea region Economies”, INTERREG Central Baltic programme Plan4Blue project being responsible for the work package dealing with the assessment of the role of blue industries in the Finnish – Estonian cross-border activities. Her role in the project is to contribute to the effects of labour migration (work package 1) and the analysis of the effects of regional integration with the use of spatial econometric analysis (work package 1, 3 and 4).
Maryna Tverdostup
Liis Roosaar defended her PhD thesis “Employees mobility and productivity in Estonia” in Sept 2022; she contributes to the analysis of labour market polarization in WP1 and the wage inequalities of the foreign owned enterprises in WP3.
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Liis Roosaar
Luca Alfieri conducts a PhD thesis on the topic “Macroeconomic Nowcasting using Big Data” and contributes to WP4 on trade in commodities and goods.
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Anastasia Sinitsyna
Amaresh Tiwari is a Visiting Researcher at the School of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Tartu. He received a PhD in Economics from Maastricht University in 2009. His areas of research are econometrics, corporate finance, innovation, and social policy. In econometrics, his focus is on estimation of endogenous treatment effects in nonlinear and duration data models, and the application of the developed methods to study issues in labour economics. In corporate finance and innovation, he has dealt extensively with the issues relating to financing of R&D and innovative activity. He has published papers at the De Economist and DICE Report: Journal for Institutional Comparisons, among others. He has participated in various EU, The Netherlands and the Belgian research projects. Currently he is conducting research on semiparametric control function models for panel data and on heterogeneity in innovation and financing decisions among firms. He has teaching experience in microeconomics, game theory and econometrics. He has been a lecturer at the University of Tartu, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Liege and a Visiting Scientist at the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi.
Amaresh Tiwari is a Visiting Researcher at the School of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Tartu. He received a PhD in Economics from Maastricht University in 2009. His areas of research are econometrics, corporate finance, innovation, and social policy. In econometrics, his focus is on estimation of endogenous treatment effects in nonlinear and duration data models, and the application of the developed methods to study issues in labour economics. In corporate finance and innovation, he has dealt extensively with the issues relating to financing of R&D and innovative activity. He has published papers at the De Economist and DICE Report: Journal for Institutional Comparisons, among others. He has participated in various EU, The Netherlands and the Belgian research projects. Currently he is conducting research on semiparametric control function models for panel data and on heterogeneity in innovation and financing decisions among firms. He has teaching experience in microeconomics, game theory and econometrics. He has been a lecturer at the University of Tartu, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Liege and a Visiting Scientist at the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi.
