2024 CREST Highlights


As 2024 draws to a close, CREST reflects on a year filled with groundbreaking research, prestigious awards, and impactful initiatives. Here’s a look back at our key achievements.

📊 Research Breakthroughs: 93 Articles Published

CREST published 93 articles so far, with 62% appearing in Q1 journals. These works reflect the breadth and depth of research conducted across CREST’s clusters. Here are some highlights:

Information Technology and Returns to Scale by Danial Lashkari, Arthur Bauer, and Jocely Boussard explores how technological advancements influence economies of scale, shedding light on contemporary production practices, in American Economic Review

Locus of Control and the Preference for Agency by Marco Caliendo, Deborah Cobb-Clark, Juliana Silva-Goncalves, and Arne Uhlendorff investigates how personal traits shape individuals’ economic decisions, providing a deeper understanding of agency in economic behavior, in European Economic Review.

Global Mobile Inventors by Dany Bahar, Prithwiraj Choudhury, Ernest Miguelez, and Sara Signorelli examines the migration patterns of innovative talent worldwide, offering new perspectives on innovation dynamics, in Journal of Development Economics.

Testing and Relaxing the Exclusion Restriction in the Control Function Approach by Xavier D’Haultfoeuille, Stefan Hordelein, and Yuya Sasaki provides advanced methodologies to enhance econometric analysis, in Journal of Econometrics.

Are Economists’ Preferences Psychologists’ Personality Traits? A Structural Approach by Tomas Jagelka bridges economics and psychology, exploring how personality traits influence economic preferences, in Journal of Political Economy.

Autoregressive Conditional Betas by Francisco Blasques, Christian Francq, and Sébastien Laurent provides innovative methods to measure financial risk, critical for investment strategies, in Journal of Econometrics.

Model-based vs. Agnostic Methods for the Prediction of Time-Varying Covariance Matrices by Jean-David Fermanian, Benjamin Poignard, and Panos Xidonas compares methodologies for improving financial predictions under uncertainty, in Annals of Operations Research.

Corporate Debt Value Under Transition Scenario Uncertainty by Theo Le Guedenal and Peter Tankov addresses the valuation of corporate debt amid environmental and regulatory changes, in Mathematical Finance.

Semiparametric Copula Models Applied to the Decomposition of Claim Amounts by Sébastien Farkas and Olivier Lopez develops new actuarial techniques to better understand insurance claims, in Scandinavian Actuarial Journal.

On the Chaotic Expansion for Counting Processes by Caroline Hillairet and Anthony Réveillac advances mathematical models with applications in finance and beyond, in Electronic Journal of Probability.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and Perceived Intergenerational Mobility in Europe by Alexi Gugushvili and Patrick Präg examines how geopolitical shocks affect societal perceptions and mobility, in British Journal of Sociology.

The Total Effect of Social Origins on Educational Attainment: Meta-analysis of Sibling Correlations From 18 Countries by Lewis R. Anderson, Patrick Präg, Evelina T. Akimova, and Christiaan Monden provides a meta-analysis of sibling correlations, offering fresh insights into education and inequality, in Demography.

Context Matters When Evacuating Large Cities: Shifting the Focus from Individual Characteristics to Location and Social Vulnerability by Samuel Rufat, Emeline Comby, Serge Lhomme, and Victor Santoni shifts the focus from individual characteristics to social vulnerabilities during urban evacuations, in Environmental Science and Policy.

Gender Equality for Whom? The Changing College Education Gradients of the Division of Paid Work and Housework Among US Couples, 1968-2019 by Léa Pessin explores shifting dynamics in gendered divisions of labor among U.S. couples over the decades, in Social Forces.

The Augmented Social Scientist: Using Sequential Transfer Learning to Annotate Millions of Texts with Human-Level Accuracy by Salomé Do, Etienne Ollion, and Rubing Shen highlights how AI tools can assist in large-scale sociological research with human-level accuracy, in Sociological Methods and Research.

Investigating Swimming Technical Skills by a Double Partition Clustering of Multivariate Functional Data Allowing for Dimension Selection, by Antoine Bouvet, Salima El Kolei, Matthieu Marbac, in Annals of Applied Statistics.

Full-model estimation for non-parametric multivariate finite mixture models, by Marie Du Roy de Chaumaray, Matthieu Marbac, in Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B: Statistical Methodology

Tail Inverse Regression: Dimension Reduction for Prediction of Extremes, by Anass Aghbalou, François Portier, Anne Sabourin, Chen Zhou, in Bernoulli.

Proxy-analysis of the genetics of cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease through polygenic scores, by Johann Faouzi, Manuela Tan, Fanny Casse, Suzanne Lesage, Christelle Tesson, Alexis Brice, Graziella Mangone, Louise-Laure Mariani, Hirotaka Iwaki, Olivier Colliot, Lasse Pihlstrom, Jean-Christophe Corvol, in NPJ Parkinson’s Disease.

Benign Overfitting and Adaptive Nonparametric Regression, by Julien Chhor, Suzanne Sigalla, Alexandre Tsybakov, in Probability Theory and Related Fields.

🎯 Discover more CREST publications on our HAL webpage.

🌍 Impactful Events and Conferences

CREST actively participated in and hosted events that fostered collaboration and knowledge exchange:

📅 Join future events: Visit our calendar.

2024 brought two new chairs at CREST:

  • Cyclomob by Marion Leroutier highlights research into sustainable urban mobility, funded through a regional chair.
  • Impact Investing Chair by Olivier-David Zerbib to maximize the positive impact of the investment on the environment and society.

🏆 Awards and Recognitions

📚 Books and Projects

This year, CREST researchers authored several impactful books:

2024 was also marked by the second series of the Beyond  the PhD series, a series of videos dedicated to the PhD course. In 2024, we were able to explore the evolution of the PhD definition through students currently in different years of their studies in all CREST research clusters.

📣 Media and Outreach

CREST researchers were featured in:

  • 80+ media outlets, including Le Monde, Le Nouvel Obs, Les Échos, University World News, BBC News Brazil, France Culture, Libération, Le Cercles des Économistes, Médiapart, AOC…
  • 30+ op-eds and articles, shaping public discourse.

🎙️ Featured Interview: Pauline Rossi discusses economic inequalities in Le Cercle des Économistes. Listen here.

CREST celebrates a year of remarkable achievements and meaningful contributions to research, society, and global conversations. From groundbreaking publications to prestigious awards and impactful events, our community has continued to push boundaries and inspire innovation.

Looking ahead to 2025, we remain committed to fostering interdisciplinary research, addressing societal challenges, and nurturing a collaborative environment for researchers and students.

2024 CREST Highlights


As 2024 draws to a close, CREST reflects on a year filled with groundbreaking research, prestigious awards, and impactful initiatives. Here’s a look back at our key achievements.

📊 Research Breakthroughs: 93 Articles Published

CREST published 93 articles so far, with 62% appearing in Q1 journals. These works reflect the breadth and depth of research conducted across CREST’s clusters. Here are some highlights:

Information Technology and Returns to Scale by Danial Lashkari, Arthur Bauer, and Jocely Boussard explores how technological advancements influence economies of scale, shedding light on contemporary production practices, in American Economic Review

Locus of Control and the Preference for Agency by Marco Caliendo, Deborah Cobb-Clark, Juliana Silva-Goncalves, and Arne Uhlendorff investigates how personal traits shape individuals’ economic decisions, providing a deeper understanding of agency in economic behavior, in European Economic Review.

Global Mobile Inventors by Dany Bahar, Prithwiraj Choudhury, Ernest Miguelez, and Sara Signorelli examines the migration patterns of innovative talent worldwide, offering new perspectives on innovation dynamics, in Journal of Development Economics.

Testing and Relaxing the Exclusion Restriction in the Control Function Approach by Xavier D’Haultfoeuille, Stefan Hordelein, and Yuya Sasaki provides advanced methodologies to enhance econometric analysis, in Journal of Econometrics.

Are Economists’ Preferences Psychologists’ Personality Traits? A Structural Approach by Tomas Jagelka bridges economics and psychology, exploring how personality traits influence economic preferences, in Journal of Political Economy.

Autoregressive Conditional Betas by Francisco Blasques, Christian Francq, and Sébastien Laurent provides innovative methods to measure financial risk, critical for investment strategies, in Journal of Econometrics.

Model-based vs. Agnostic Methods for the Prediction of Time-Varying Covariance Matrices by Jean-David Fermanian, Benjamin Poignard, and Panos Xidonas compares methodologies for improving financial predictions under uncertainty, in Annals of Operations Research.

Corporate Debt Value Under Transition Scenario Uncertainty by Theo Le Guedenal and Peter Tankov addresses the valuation of corporate debt amid environmental and regulatory changes, in Mathematical Finance.

Semiparametric Copula Models Applied to the Decomposition of Claim Amounts by Sébastien Farkas and Olivier Lopez develops new actuarial techniques to better understand insurance claims, in Scandinavian Actuarial Journal.

On the Chaotic Expansion for Counting Processes by Caroline Hillairet and Anthony Réveillac advances mathematical models with applications in finance and beyond, in Electronic Journal of Probability.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and Perceived Intergenerational Mobility in Europe by Alexi Gugushvili and Patrick Präg examines how geopolitical shocks affect societal perceptions and mobility, in British Journal of Sociology.

The Total Effect of Social Origins on Educational Attainment: Meta-analysis of Sibling Correlations From 18 Countries by Lewis R. Anderson, Patrick Präg, Evelina T. Akimova, and Christiaan Monden provides a meta-analysis of sibling correlations, offering fresh insights into education and inequality, in Demography.

Context Matters When Evacuating Large Cities: Shifting the Focus from Individual Characteristics to Location and Social Vulnerability by Samuel Rufat, Emeline Comby, Serge Lhomme, and Victor Santoni shifts the focus from individual characteristics to social vulnerabilities during urban evacuations, in Environmental Science and Policy.

Gender Equality for Whom? The Changing College Education Gradients of the Division of Paid Work and Housework Among US Couples, 1968-2019 by Léa Pessin explores shifting dynamics in gendered divisions of labor among U.S. couples over the decades, in Social Forces.

The Augmented Social Scientist: Using Sequential Transfer Learning to Annotate Millions of Texts with Human-Level Accuracy by Salomé Do, Etienne Ollion, and Rubing Shen highlights how AI tools can assist in large-scale sociological research with human-level accuracy, in Sociological Methods and Research.

Investigating Swimming Technical Skills by a Double Partition Clustering of Multivariate Functional Data Allowing for Dimension Selection, by Antoine Bouvet, Salima El Kolei, Matthieu Marbac, in Annals of Applied Statistics.

Full-model estimation for non-parametric multivariate finite mixture models, by Marie Du Roy de Chaumaray, Matthieu Marbac, in Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B: Statistical Methodology

Tail Inverse Regression: Dimension Reduction for Prediction of Extremes, by Anass Aghbalou, François Portier, Anne Sabourin, Chen Zhou, in Bernoulli.

Proxy-analysis of the genetics of cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease through polygenic scores, by Johann Faouzi, Manuela Tan, Fanny Casse, Suzanne Lesage, Christelle Tesson, Alexis Brice, Graziella Mangone, Louise-Laure Mariani, Hirotaka Iwaki, Olivier Colliot, Lasse Pihlstrom, Jean-Christophe Corvol, in NPJ Parkinson’s Disease.

Benign Overfitting and Adaptive Nonparametric Regression, by Julien Chhor, Suzanne Sigalla, Alexandre Tsybakov, in Probability Theory and Related Fields.

🎯 Discover more CREST publications on our HAL webpage.

🌍 Impactful Events and Conferences

CREST actively participated in and hosted events that fostered collaboration and knowledge exchange:

📅 Join future events: Visit our calendar.

2024 brought two new chairs at CREST:

  • Cyclomob by Marion Leroutier highlights research into sustainable urban mobility, funded through a regional chair.
  • Impact Investing Chair by Olivier-David Zerbib to maximize the positive impact of the investment on the environment and society.

🏆 Awards and Recognitions

📚 Books and Projects

This year, CREST researchers authored several impactful books:

2024 was also marked by the second series of the Beyond  the PhD series, a series of videos dedicated to the PhD course. In 2024, we were able to explore the evolution of the PhD definition through students currently in different years of their studies in all CREST research clusters.

📣 Media and Outreach

CREST researchers were featured in:

  • 80+ media outlets, including Le Monde, Le Nouvel Obs, Les Échos, University World News, BBC News Brazil, France Culture, Libération, Le Cercles des Économistes, Médiapart, AOC…
  • 30+ op-eds and articles, shaping public discourse.

🎙️ Featured Interview: Pauline Rossi discusses economic inequalities in Le Cercle des Économistes. Listen here.

CREST celebrates a year of remarkable achievements and meaningful contributions to research, society, and global conversations. From groundbreaking publications to prestigious awards and impactful events, our community has continued to push boundaries and inspire innovation.

Looking ahead to 2025, we remain committed to fostering interdisciplinary research, addressing societal challenges, and nurturing a collaborative environment for researchers and students.

Essai : Une étrange victoire, l’extrême droite contre la politique par Michaël Foessel et Etienne Ollion


Le 18 octobre 2024, Michaël Foessel, philosophe, professeur à l’Ecole polytechnique ainsi que Etienne Ollion, directeur de recherche en sociologie (CNRS) au CREST publient un essai Une étrange victoire, l’extrême droite contre la politique aux éditions Seuil.

Les auteurs

Michaël Foessel, agrégé de philosophie, est actuellement directeur du département humanités et sciences sociales à l’École polytechnique. Ses recherches s’articulent principalement autour des questions de démocratie, de modernité, de sécularisation et des affects politiques, explorant notamment des notions comme la peur, le ressentiment et l’espoir. Il est également reconnu pour ses réflexions sur l’articulation entre l’intime et le politique, et la manière dont la vie privée s’entrelace avec l’espace public.

Étienne Ollion est membre du CREST et directeur de recherche en sociologie au CNRS. Ses travaux récents se concentrent sur deux axes principaux : d’une part, la politique et le pouvoir, et d’autre part, les méthodes computationnelles, souvent en les combinant dans une approche innovante.

L'ouvrage

Dans Une étrange victoire, l’extrême droite contre la politique, Michaël Foessel et Étienne Ollion analysent les transformations du paysage politique contemporain, en particulier la montée de l’extrême droite. Le livre se penche sur les évolutions du Rassemblement National (RN) en France et sur la manière dont ce parti a pu se rapprocher des normes républicaines tout en conservant certains de ses thèmes traditionnels.

Les auteurs explorent les changements dans les repères politiques classiques, comme le clivage gauche-droite, et montrent comment ces transformations ont contribué à rendre l’extrême droite plus acceptable pour une partie de l’électorat. Le livre aborde également les effets de ces évolutions sur l’espace public et le débat politique.

Cet ouvrage invite à réfléchir aux mutations des cadres politiques et à la manière dont elles redéfinissent les contours de la démocratie contemporaine.

La presse en parle

Mediapart : https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/politique/151024/ce-que-ferait-le-rn-au-pouvoir-les-medias-ne-lui-posent-pas-assez-la-question

Regards : https://regards.fr/il-ne-faut-pas-croire-que-le-rn-sest-dediabolise-tout-seul/

LCP : https://lcp.fr/programmes/ca-vous-regarde/elections-americaines-tous-les-coups-sont-permis-314875

France Culture : https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/questions-du-soir-l-idee/infrapolitique-selon-michael-foessel-et-etienne-ollion-3658990

Le Monde : https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2024/11/08/l-etrange-victoire-anatomie-du-discours-reactionnaire_6383426_3232.html

Non fiction : https://www.nonfiction.fr/article-12192-entretien-avec-etienne-ollion-letrange-victoire-de-lextreme-droite.htm

France Inter : https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/l-invite-de-8h20-le-grand-entretien/l-invite-de-8h20-le-grand-entretien-du-mercredi-30-octobre-2024-9623527

La Croix : https://www.la-croix.com/a-vif/l-extreme-droite-a-profite-du-brouillage-entre-gauche-et-droite-20241017

Nouvel Obs : https://www.nouvelobs.com/idees/20241013.OBS94901/michael-f-ssel-et-etienne-ollion-dans-ce-livre-nous-avons-voulu-explorer-les-valeurs-actuelles-de-l-extreme-droite.html

L’Express : https://www.lexpress.fr/idees-et-debats/etienne-ollion-le-nationalisme-actuel-du-rn-est-devenu-woke-VJXXWF6HKVCIDF7LMJIWG5PWQE/

L’Humanité : https://www.humanite.fr/en-debat/extreme-droite/les-institutions-ne-sont-pas-pretes-a-faire-face-a-des-partis-qui-ne-les-respecteraient-pas-entretien-avec-etienne-ollion-et-michael-foessel

Libération : https://www.liberation.fr/politique/elections/saque-foessel-mannoni-bantigny-en-librairies-une-profusion-douvrages-pour-reflechir-sur-lextreme-droite-20241117_UXYDICHEIVAJ7PRGGYGKM7624E/

France Culture : https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/les-matins/coptes-d-egypte-notion-d-apologie-du-terrorisme-michel-barnier-sous-la-menace-du-rn-4736092

Le Populaire du Centre : https://www.lepopulaire.fr/paris-75000/actualites/apres-la-censure-de-michel-barnier-le-rn-est-il-encore-au-centre-du-jeu-politique-ca-rebat-les-cartes-estime-etienne-ollion_14608116/

Essai : Une étrange victoire, l’extrême droite contre la politique par Michaël Foessel et Etienne Ollion


Le 18 octobre 2024, Michaël Foessel, philosophe, professeur à l’Ecole polytechnique ainsi que Etienne Ollion, directeur de recherche en sociologie (CNRS) au CREST publient un essai Une étrange victoire, l’extrême droite contre la politique aux éditions Seuil.

Les auteurs

Michaël Foessel, agrégé de philosophie, est actuellement directeur du département humanités et sciences sociales à l’École polytechnique. Ses recherches s’articulent principalement autour des questions de démocratie, de modernité, de sécularisation et des affects politiques, explorant notamment des notions comme la peur, le ressentiment et l’espoir. Il est également reconnu pour ses réflexions sur l’articulation entre l’intime et le politique, et la manière dont la vie privée s’entrelace avec l’espace public.

Étienne Ollion est membre du CREST et directeur de recherche en sociologie au CNRS. Ses travaux récents se concentrent sur deux axes principaux : d’une part, la politique et le pouvoir, et d’autre part, les méthodes computationnelles, souvent en les combinant dans une approche innovante.

L'ouvrage

Dans Une étrange victoire, l’extrême droite contre la politique, Michaël Foessel et Étienne Ollion analysent les transformations du paysage politique contemporain, en particulier la montée de l’extrême droite. Le livre se penche sur les évolutions du Rassemblement National (RN) en France et sur la manière dont ce parti a pu se rapprocher des normes républicaines tout en conservant certains de ses thèmes traditionnels.

Les auteurs explorent les changements dans les repères politiques classiques, comme le clivage gauche-droite, et montrent comment ces transformations ont contribué à rendre l’extrême droite plus acceptable pour une partie de l’électorat. Le livre aborde également les effets de ces évolutions sur l’espace public et le débat politique.

Cet ouvrage invite à réfléchir aux mutations des cadres politiques et à la manière dont elles redéfinissent les contours de la démocratie contemporaine.

La presse en parle

Mediapart : https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/politique/151024/ce-que-ferait-le-rn-au-pouvoir-les-medias-ne-lui-posent-pas-assez-la-question

Regards : https://regards.fr/il-ne-faut-pas-croire-que-le-rn-sest-dediabolise-tout-seul/

LCP : https://lcp.fr/programmes/ca-vous-regarde/elections-americaines-tous-les-coups-sont-permis-314875

France Culture : https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/questions-du-soir-l-idee/infrapolitique-selon-michael-foessel-et-etienne-ollion-3658990

Le Monde : https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2024/11/08/l-etrange-victoire-anatomie-du-discours-reactionnaire_6383426_3232.html

Non fiction : https://www.nonfiction.fr/article-12192-entretien-avec-etienne-ollion-letrange-victoire-de-lextreme-droite.htm

France Inter : https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/l-invite-de-8h20-le-grand-entretien/l-invite-de-8h20-le-grand-entretien-du-mercredi-30-octobre-2024-9623527

La Croix : https://www.la-croix.com/a-vif/l-extreme-droite-a-profite-du-brouillage-entre-gauche-et-droite-20241017

Nouvel Obs : https://www.nouvelobs.com/idees/20241013.OBS94901/michael-f-ssel-et-etienne-ollion-dans-ce-livre-nous-avons-voulu-explorer-les-valeurs-actuelles-de-l-extreme-droite.html

L’Express : https://www.lexpress.fr/idees-et-debats/etienne-ollion-le-nationalisme-actuel-du-rn-est-devenu-woke-VJXXWF6HKVCIDF7LMJIWG5PWQE/

L’Humanité : https://www.humanite.fr/en-debat/extreme-droite/les-institutions-ne-sont-pas-pretes-a-faire-face-a-des-partis-qui-ne-les-respecteraient-pas-entretien-avec-etienne-ollion-et-michael-foessel

Libération : https://www.liberation.fr/politique/elections/saque-foessel-mannoni-bantigny-en-librairies-une-profusion-douvrages-pour-reflechir-sur-lextreme-droite-20241117_UXYDICHEIVAJ7PRGGYGKM7624E/

France Culture : https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/les-matins/coptes-d-egypte-notion-d-apologie-du-terrorisme-michel-barnier-sous-la-menace-du-rn-4736092

Le Populaire du Centre : https://www.lepopulaire.fr/paris-75000/actualites/apres-la-censure-de-michel-barnier-le-rn-est-il-encore-au-centre-du-jeu-politique-ca-rebat-les-cartes-estime-etienne-ollion_14608116/

Welcome Day at CREST – A Great Start to the New Academic Year


On October 10, 2024, CREST held its annual Welcome Day, an event dedicated to welcoming new members (research assistants, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members), offering them an introduction to the laboratory through presentations from the management team and thematic leaders.

This year, all CREST sites (CREST-ENSAE Paris, CREST-ENSAI, and CREST-Télécom Paris) gathered at the ENSAE Paris campus.

The presentations provided the new members with a comprehensive understanding of CREST’s institutional environment, particularly its affiliations with the Institut Polytechnique de Paris and the University of Rennes. Each newcomer also had the opportunity to introduce themselves and their research project, fostering exchanges with both new and existing members of CREST.

The thematic leaders highlighted well-being initiatives at CREST, as well as the structure of the doctoral program at IP Paris. The event also allowed the administrative team to outline their roles and share useful recommendations.

Our scientific data engineers demonstrated Onyxia, a solution recently deployed in collaboration with GENES.

Finally, CREST PhD students shared information about various reading groups, other lab initiatives, and teaching opportunities available during the doctoral program.

This event also marked the unveiling of CREST’s new institutional brochure for the academic year, which provides an overview of the lab’s research and teaching activities, as well as its prestigious achievements.