I am a poverty scholar at heart and an applied economist by training. Currently, I am an Associate Professor (tenured) at the Department of Economics at the Universitat de Girona (Spain). I obtained my PhD at the Applied Economics Department at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in 2009. Previously, I graduated from a MSc in European Social Policy at the London School of Economics and I hold a BSc in Economics and another one in Journalism at UAB.
Most of my research focuses on the Economics of Poverty and Inequality, Economics of the Family, Labour Economics, Health Economics and Applied Microeconometrics.
I am an IZA Research Fellow and a member of the research group EQUALITAS.
(Only good) News:
May 2026: New funding! Paternity leave reforms in Spain: changes over time and keys for policy redesign (with Natalia Carralero), Instituto de Estudios Fiscales.
May 2026: New appointment! I have been appointed member of the "Technical Committee for the Analysis of Statistics on the level, quality and living conditions in Spain", Higher Statistical Council.
April 2026: New publication! Imdorf, C.; Buttler, D.; Bjørnshagen, V.; Cosciug, A.; Lipowska, K.; Magda, I.; Palczyńska, M.; Smoter, M.; Ayllón, S.; Bell, J.; Krząkała, M.; Precupetu, I.; Radogna, R.M.; Rogstad, J.; Samuel, R.; Tufa, L.; Valls, O.; Wessel, N. (2026). ‘Hiring discrimination in the organizational context: A harmonized factorial survey dataset from four European countries (Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania)’, Scientific Data, forthcoming.
March 2026: New appointment! I have been appointed scientific director of the sectorial campus on "Cohesion and Social Commitment" at the University of Girona.
December 2025: New report! Ayllón, S.; Busquets, S.; González, L.; Lanau, A.; Sales, A. (2025). 'Estratègies contra el sensellarisme', Servei de Publicacions i Assessorament Lingüístic del Departament de Drets Socials i Inclusió (in Catalan). [link] [pdf]
November 2025: New chapter! Ayllón, S.; Lanau, A. (2025). 'Poverty is inherited', Report on exclusion and social development in Catalonia, Chapter 8, pp. 271-298, Fundación FOESSA (in Catalan). [link] [pdf]
September 2025: New report! `Invertir en un futur just: prestacions econòmiques contra la pobresa infantil' (with Pau Marí-Klose, Alba Lanau and Albert Arcarons), Servei de Publicacions i Assessorament Lingüístic del Departament de Drets Socials i Inclusió (in Catalan). [link]
July 2025: New Working Paper! 'The causal impact of school-meal programmes on children in developed economies: A meta-analysis' (with Samuel Lado), IZA Discussion Paper no. 18042. [link]
June 2025: New Working Paper! "Sorting' out gender discrimination and disadvantage: Evidence from student evaluations of teaching' (with Lars Lefgren, Richard Patterson, Olga Stoddard and Nicolás Urdaneta Andrade), NBER Working Paper 33911. [link] Also IZA Discussion Paper no. 18040. [link]
Most of my research focuses on the Economics of Poverty and Inequality, Economics of the Family, Labour Economics, Health Economics and Applied Microeconometrics.
I am an IZA Research Fellow and a member of the research group EQUALITAS.
(Only good) News:
May 2026: New funding! Paternity leave reforms in Spain: changes over time and keys for policy redesign (with Natalia Carralero), Instituto de Estudios Fiscales.
May 2026: New appointment! I have been appointed member of the "Technical Committee for the Analysis of Statistics on the level, quality and living conditions in Spain", Higher Statistical Council.
April 2026: New publication! Imdorf, C.; Buttler, D.; Bjørnshagen, V.; Cosciug, A.; Lipowska, K.; Magda, I.; Palczyńska, M.; Smoter, M.; Ayllón, S.; Bell, J.; Krząkała, M.; Precupetu, I.; Radogna, R.M.; Rogstad, J.; Samuel, R.; Tufa, L.; Valls, O.; Wessel, N. (2026). ‘Hiring discrimination in the organizational context: A harmonized factorial survey dataset from four European countries (Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania)’, Scientific Data, forthcoming.
March 2026: New appointment! I have been appointed scientific director of the sectorial campus on "Cohesion and Social Commitment" at the University of Girona.
December 2025: New report! Ayllón, S.; Busquets, S.; González, L.; Lanau, A.; Sales, A. (2025). 'Estratègies contra el sensellarisme', Servei de Publicacions i Assessorament Lingüístic del Departament de Drets Socials i Inclusió (in Catalan). [link] [pdf]
November 2025: New chapter! Ayllón, S.; Lanau, A. (2025). 'Poverty is inherited', Report on exclusion and social development in Catalonia, Chapter 8, pp. 271-298, Fundación FOESSA (in Catalan). [link] [pdf]
September 2025: New report! `Invertir en un futur just: prestacions econòmiques contra la pobresa infantil' (with Pau Marí-Klose, Alba Lanau and Albert Arcarons), Servei de Publicacions i Assessorament Lingüístic del Departament de Drets Socials i Inclusió (in Catalan). [link]
July 2025: New Working Paper! 'The causal impact of school-meal programmes on children in developed economies: A meta-analysis' (with Samuel Lado), IZA Discussion Paper no. 18042. [link]
June 2025: New Working Paper! "Sorting' out gender discrimination and disadvantage: Evidence from student evaluations of teaching' (with Lars Lefgren, Richard Patterson, Olga Stoddard and Nicolás Urdaneta Andrade), NBER Working Paper 33911. [link] Also IZA Discussion Paper no. 18040. [link]