Events and Seminars

Yann Bramoullé, Ph.D.

Aix-Marseille University, France

Authors: Ghazala Azmat, Yann Bramoullé, Julien Grenet, Elise Huillery, Aristide Houndetoungan and Youssef Souidi

Abstract: We analyze the impact of a national large-scale desegregation program, targeting a greater mixing of students from different social backgrounds in middle schools, on friendship networks. We compare students in sites covered by the desegregation program (“treatment” group) with students in “matched” sites that are not covered (“control” group). We first document significant homophily with respect to socio-economic status in control schools. We then assess the effect of the program on friendship networks, finding that status homophily is higher in treated schools, which have more diverse student populations. Both baseline homophily and the increase in homophily due to the treatment reduce the effectiveness of the program in fostering more diverse friendships. We propose a novel decomposition of the treatment effect into a composition and a homophily effect, and we develop a new methodology to account for censoring in the econometrics of network formation.

Optional course for students of Charles University - The lectures are conducted in Czech 


In the lecture series "Fundamental Social Issues from the Point of View of Economics" Filip Matějka and Jan Zápal, professors at CERGE-EI, address current global problems and demonstrate how economics views these issues.

The course is intended for students of all disciplines and academic years who wish to seek answers to questions (or understand why it is difficult to answer) such as: What can governments do, and what can markets do? What about social inequality, the future of work, global warming, threats to democracy, media, and (dis)information? The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the fundamental concepts and ways of thinking of modern economics using real-world social problems.

A total of 6 lessons will take place every Monday from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM at CERGE-EI, Politických vězňů 7, Prague 1, in room 7.

Nov 10, 2025: Markets, their functions and regulation. Welfare. Government interventions.
Nov 17, 2025: Democracy and how it works.
Nov 24, 2025: Inequality, how to measure it, how it changes, and what to do about it.
Dec 01, 2025: Environmental problems, global warming, economic diagnosis and solutions.
Dec 08, 2025: Information and media, how agents process it, do markets provide it.
Dec 15, 2025: ... surprise

Course code in SIS: JCM039

You can find the course page with current information here.