Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe

My two research passions are the study of racism on the one hand and the field of social stratification and inequalities on the other. These two topics are not only academically interesting, but are also related to my deep concern about racial and social injustice in the world. My research focuses on racism, social mobility and inequality, housing and urban dynamics. As a researcher I love to use field experiments, such as correspondence tests and mystery calling, to examine social inequalities and discrimination.

I am recently very interested in how racism and social inequalities differ according to the organizational, local or national context, because this gives insight into how we can change these contexts in order to tackle these problems. In the same vein, I like to study evidence-based policy interventions. Therefore, I worked already a lot together with civil society organizations and governments in the past. In that context, I have been invited as an academic expert member for two official governmental committees in Belgium to provide policy advisadvicee about tackling discrimination on the housing and labour markets.

I am privileged to be currently the promotor of several PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. In addition, I am teaching several courses about social inequality, migration, diversity and statistics. During my classes, I love to discuss with students about these topics and their policy implications.

Finally, I am a founding member of the Brussels Interdisciplinary Research Institute for Migration (BIRMM) and a member of the scientific board of Hannah Arendt Institute in Belgium.

Research projects:

Promotor of the research project ‘EqualStrenghts. From one closed door to another: Cumulative discrimination and prejudice against marginalised groups in Europe’ from April 2023 – March 2026, together with an international consortium of more than 20 scholars. Funding source: Horizon Europe Program of the European Commission.

Promotor of the research project ‘FedDiverse. Ethnic diversity in federal public services’. From September 2022 – November 2024, together with Prof. Eva Derous and Prof. Donatienne Desmette. Funding source: BELSPO-Brain – Pillar III.

Promotor of the Phd fellowship of Margot Verhulst about ‘Intergenerational social mobility and welfare state regimes from a gendered perspective’. From November 2023 – October 2027. Funding source: FWO Vlaanderen.

Promotor of the Phd fellowship of Elias Kruithof about ‘Social and ethnic inequalities in intergenerational social mobility: the role of the educational macro context’. From November 2022 – October 2026. Funding source: FWO Vlaanderen.

Promotor of the junior research project ‘Contextualizing ethnic discrimination on the rental housing market: The role of local factors to explain and tackle rental discrimination’. From January 2022 - December 2025. Funding source: FWO Vlaanderen.

Promotor of the research project ‘Praktijktests op de Brusselse arbeidsmarkt’. From December 2022 – November 2023, together with dr. Mikkel Barslund, dr. Ilse Tobback, dr. Anne Guisset and Prof. Stijn Baert. Funding source: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest.

Promotor of the research project ‘Meerjarenovereenkomst voor het uitvoeren van praktijktesten discriminatie op de professionele huurmarkt en de arbeidsmarkt op sectorniveau in de Stad Antwerpen’ from October 2019 – December 2024, together with Prof. Stijn Baert. Funding source: City of Antwerp.

Promotor of the research project ‘Onderzoek naar discriminatie op de huurwoningmarkt in de Limburgse mijngemeenten’ from December 2020 – June 2024, together with Prof. Samantha Bielen. Funding source: City of Genk.

Promotor of the research project ‘Discriminatie op de huurmarkt in Leuven: de opvolgmeting’ from May 2023 – April 2024, Funding source: City of Leuven.

Research keywords:

discrimination; racism; migration; social mobility; social inequality; social class; policy evaluation; housing market; segregation; field experiments