Our goal in Project UNTANGLED is to examine the impact of globalisation, technological transformation and demographic change on labour markets in the European Union, and to recommend policies that will contribute to shared prosperity. These megatrends are accelerating, and they intertwine with each other in a series of dependencies affecting skills, inequality, labour mobility and migration. Ageing societies, automation, AI, migration, global value chains and Industry 4.0 are just some of the factors that are changing the nature of work.

In this interdisciplinary project, we seek to untangle these trends, measure their impact and identify which groups are at risk. We also map scenarios for how the trends will develop at the level of sectors, regions and the EU. As part of our effort to ensure we have a wide variety of regional perspectives, institutions from three continents beyond Europe are also participating in the project. Based on our analyses, we will propose policies to reap the benefits of the three megatrends and cushion their negative impacts, promoting fairness and prosperity for the people of Europe and beyond.

We aim to answer three main research questions:

• What are the effects of technological transformation, globalisation, and demographic trends on labour market outcomes, skills, inequality, and labour mobility and migration in Europe?
• What are the plausible scenarios for these mega-trends and their impacts in the decades to come?
• Which combinations of policies will be most effective in managing these mega-trends towards shared prosperity?