with Balázs Reizer (PI), István Boza, Martin Neubrandt, Róbert Károly (founded by Lendület Grant, Hungarian Academy of Sciences)
Duration: 2024–2029
This project aims to create the first Hungarian survey of workplace tasks and skill use, modeled after the American O*NET database. The survey, conducted by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), collects detailed information about workers’ tasks and skills, which will be linked to administrative data from social security records and firms’ financial statements. The resulting dataset will provide a unique opportunity to jointly analyze employees’ task use, work histories, and firm characteristics.
The project aims to uncover new mechanisms underlying wage inequality and comprises four research studies. These examine (1) how job tasks differ across age groups and how such differences explain wage gaps, (2) how gender differences in task complexity contribute to the gender pay gap, (3) whether workers performing more complex tasks experience faster wage growth and promotion, and (4) which occupations are most exposed to automation and AI. The project also examines how workers adapt to technological change, including their ability to transition to new roles within or across firms.
This research area includes three projects that explore intergenerational mobility and the mechanisms that shape it in Hungary.
Long-term Social Mobility in Hungary
with Pawel Bukowski, Gregory Clark, and Attila Gáspár (funded by OTKA – National Research Fund)
This project investigates long-term trends in social mobility in Hungary, tracing intergenerational links back to the mid-19th century. Using archival and administrative data, we examine how economic and social structures have evolved over time and how opportunities for upward mobility have changed.
Name Magyarization and Economic Assimilation
with Attila Gáspár (funded by OTKA – National Research Fund)
This project examines the economic incentives and assimilation effects of name Magyarization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By digitizing historical archival records and linking them with official data from the Ministry of the Interior, we study how cultural assimilation interacted with social and economic advancement in Hungary’s modernization period.
The Impact of Parental Employment Shocks on Children’s Outcomes
with Dániel Horn and Anna Bárdits
This study examines a key mechanism of intergenerational mobility: how maternal employment shocks affect children’s short- and long-term outcomes. Using rich administrative data that link parents and children, we analyze how job loss experienced by mothers influences their children’s educational decisions, school performance, and future trajectories. The project provides new evidence on how family-level economic shocks shape social mobility across generations.
This research area focuses on understanding the factors that shape women’s career trajectories, labor market participation, and family-related decisions through three interconnected projects.
Returning to Work after Childbirth
with Dzsamila Vonnák and Ágnes Szabó-Morvai (funded by OTKA – National Research Fund)
This project examines the factors that shape young mothers’ decisions to return to work after childbirth. We study how workplace conditions — including task characteristics — influence the timing and likelihood of re-entering the labor market. The research is closely connected to our broader work on workplace skills and tasks and will result in both policy-oriented and academic publications.
Career Paths of Mothers Raising Children with Special Educational Needs
with Judit Krekó, Anikó Bíró, Dzsamila Vonnák, Anna Bárdits (funded by OTKA – National Research Fund)
This project investigates the career opportunities and challenges faced by mothers raising children with special educational needs (SEN). We are conducting a national survey — approved by the Hungarian Medical Research Council (TUKEB) — to better understand their experiences and support needs. Using a rich administrative linked employer-employee database, we compare the long-term career trajectories of mothers with SEN and non-SEN children through matching and event study analyses.
Life-course Pathways and Fertility Outcomes
with Ágnes Szabó-Morvai (funded by OTKA – National Research Fund)
This project explores how different life-course trajectories lead to distinct fertility outcomes, with special attention to the factors associated with pregnancy termination. Drawing on rich administrative data, we apply machine learning methods to identify the health, demographic, and labor market characteristics that shape women’s reproductive decisions and outcomes.
role: PI, funded by OTKA – National Research Fund
Duration: September 2021 – June 2025
with Márta Bisztray, Balázs Reizer, Balázs Muraközy
This project examined how foreign direct investment (FDI) shapes labor market inequality in Hungary across three key dimensions: skills, health, and gender. We built a unique dataset linking company registry data (including FDI origin) with employer–employee records, the U.S. O*NET task database, and a machine-learning-based measure of individual health capital. This integrated dataset supported three studies submitted to leading academic journals and provides a foundation for future research.
Our findings reveal that while FDI fosters technological progress, it can also deepen inequalities. FDI increases wage gaps within firms by raising returns to skill-intensive tasks; workers with chronic health conditions face significant labor market disadvantages, particularly in foreign-owned firms; and gender wage inequality widens where firms enjoy greater wage-setting autonomy. The results also show that cultural norms can be transmitted through FDI. Together, these insights underscore the need for inclusive policies promoting education, retraining, and equitable access to high-quality employment.
Selected outputs:
Pető, R. & Reizer, B. (2025). FDI, Technological Progress and Inequality. KRTK–KTI Working Papers 2025/10.
Pető, R. (2025). Foreign-owned Firms and the Gender Wage Gap: Does Cultural Transmission Matter? KRTK–KTI Working Papers 2025/9.
Bisztray, M., Muraközy, B., & Pető, R. (2025). The Role of Firms in the Wage Penalty for Chronic Health Conditions. KRTK–KTI Working Papers 2025/8.
Blog features: Defacto Blog, Telex.hu (Aug–Sep 2025).