Laura Fumagalli

Dr. Laura Fumagalli is a Research Fellow at the University of Essex, specializing in applied labour, health, and development economics, alongside survey methodology. She contributes to the Understanding Society team, focusing on projects such as ethnic minority data sampling, income imputation, and harmonized dataset creation. Her research interests include social/human capital determinants, ethnic diversity impacts, microcredit, child labour, and well-being measurement. She has co-authored studies on education disparities, pandemic effects on mental health, and policy-relevant surveys.

Research Contributions:

• Designed the ethnic minority boost sample for Understanding Society.
• Investigated income volatility in the UK and child labor dynamics in Mozambique.
• Examined pandemic-era school closures' mental health impacts on parents and children.

Key Projects:

• Creation of harmonized BHPS-Understanding Society datasets.
• Inclusion of Understanding Society in the Cross National Equivalent File (CNEF).
• Experimental methods to improve longitudinal survey retention.

Her work bridges academic research with policy, emphasizing methodological rigor and real-world applications.