The PRIMOFOOD project aims to innovate in modelling the effect of food prices on household purchasing behaviour. It is in line with axis 1.5 of the AAPG2019 "Food and Food Systems". The proposed innovations will allow for a better assessment of the effectiveness and distributive effects of nutritional taxation policies. The identification of price effects can be based either on the econometric analysis of existing market data or on the analysis of experimental data generated in lab. Econometric methods may have limited internal validity, while experimental methods have questionable external validity. Our project therefore proposes to address the respective weaknesses of these two methods and, beyond that, to exploit their complementarities. WP1 will develop innovative experimental analyses of price effects. First, using innovative protocols, we will analyze the effect of large price changes, similar to the levels used in micro-simulations of pricing policies, but much larger than the changes observed in market data. The objective is to identify possible salience and reference price effects, which can induce non-linearities and discontinuities in consumer reactions to prices. We will also test the potential complementarities between pricing policies and nutritional labelling of the NutriScore type. We will also study the effects of social norm, cognitive load, and the existence of opportunity costs. WP2 will develop a structural econometric model of quality and quantity demand under multiple constraints. Beyond the usual budget constraint, the model will include a nutritional intake constraint, with possible extension to multiple linear constraints. The objective is to reflect that the choices of some households are constrained by the need to ensure a minimum of energy intake, or for some potentially addictive goods (alcohol and sugar). This econometric modelling work poses various theoretical and practical challenges. The empirical work will use Kantar WorldPanel scanner data on the consumption of non-alcoholic drinks by French households, and will aim in particular to identify the existence of effects of sugar habituation. WP3 will aim to show the possibility of evaluating the ex-ante evaluation of pricing policies by a micro-simulation of taxation policies based on a model that integrates the outcomes of the two work packages. We will first cross-validate the experimental and econometric methods, comparing the econometric approach with the data generated in the experiments. This will allow us to identify opportunities to improve the specifications of the econometric model, an improvement that will be implemented by a Bayesian method. Finally, we will carry out micro-simulations based on the case of the taxation of sweetened drinks, which has been in place in France since 2012. This will allow us to better characterize the effectiveness of this tax, as well as its distributive and welfare impacts on the various socio-economic segments of the population. PRIMOFOOD provides methodological contributions to the scientific communities and to important public policy issues. The team includes researchers covering the spectrum of issues addressed, from fundamental methodological issues to public policy expertise. The project proposes an international approach, with the ambition of replicating part of the work on American data, with a view to comparing food systems. Finally, the project will produce tools to better understand the links between the long-term dynamics of price changes and the sustainability of food systems.

This research intends to study the response of different organizations to the Covid-19 pandemic, comparing the period from March to May 2020 with the period beginning in October 2020. It will focus on three sets of organizations: 1) Government and central administrations, 2) regional and local institutions, 3) the (socio-)health sector. The interviews conducted will be organized around three thematic entries that will help us to better understand the relationships between the different actors and organizations: 1) protection and prevention measures (masks, lock-down, curfew, isolation and physical distancing) ; 2) the organization of tests and screening (availability and choice of tests, contact cases, applications); 3) the management of patients and populations at risk (in hospital, at home, respiratory equipment, treatments, transportation). This research aims to uncover and analyse the capacities of these organisations to transform themselves or not in a period of uncertainty, by favoring an approach centered on collective action (to analyse the forms of cooperation or conflict that arise during crisis management) and a cognitive approach (which looks at the way in which actors make sense of the crisis and legitimize their actions). By comparing two periods, we will seek to see whether the capacities for cooperation differ according to whether the situation is marked by a high degree of uncertainty, urgency and extraordinary functioning; or, on the contrary, a better knowledge of the risks, less time pressure and a return to ordinary functioning. The goal will be to produce, in addition to fundamental knowledge about organizations in crisis situations, an analysis shared with the actors involved in the management of the crisis in these different organizations, with a view to collective learning.

The ambition to achieve the Paris Agreement goals has led to the realization that a rapid and full decarbonization of the economy is required, involving a structural transition of the current economy and society. With the rise of quantified policy targets, policy packages, and consideration of multiple dimensions and sectors, Integrated Assessment Models with their ability to consider complex relationships and provide calibrated numerical results have become ever more important in the last decade. The PRISMA project aims to bring these models to the next level by focusing on four key areas of improvement, namely the representation of distributional justice and efficiency, innovation and finance, climate impacts and land-use implications, and lifestyle change and circularity. In these four key areas we will improve existing large-scale IAMs and sectorial models, and consider the linking of different models where applicable. Two cross-cutting shared themes across these areas are the improvement of the temporal and spatial resolution of the analysis, and the representation of disruptive and structural change in the economy. Notably we will increase the spatial granularity with a focus on Europe, and look at the yearly and in particular near term detailed modeling of rapid decarbonization pathways. The extensive model development will be co-designed through an interactive stakeholder engagement process from the beginning, and focus on model openness and usability to ensure the stakeholder and policy relevance. Moreover, PRISMA will focus in its application on the analysis of the spectrum of Fit for 55 package policies of the EU developing focalized robust and resilient Net zero pathways and assess the uncertainty around key variables and outcomes. PRISMA will also provide key insights to international climate assessments, a large number of open modelling tools and databases, including capacity building and dissemination activities for all countries.