The section Labour Economics & Education specialises in labour market, labour market policy, schooling and training research. Recent research topics deal with employability, transition from school to work, temporary work, re-integration and exit from unemployment and social assistance, wage differentials, employment benefits, migration, ethnic minorities, career choices and schooling and work.

The section Health Economics & Social Security analyses developments in healthcare and social security, with research often shaped by the highly regulated nature of these 2 sectors. This section specialises in market analyses, effectiveness and cost-benefit studies and budgeting and costing systems. Major work has been done recently on labour-market reintegration services and on the position of the chronically ill.

Research in the section Regulation & Competition Policy concentrates on the design, analysis and evaluation of competition and government intervention. The section deals with issues related to the structure, conduct and performance of markets and sectors, regulation and deregulation, economic aspects of cartels, mergers, market dominance and other topics in the field of competition. It assesses new or established regulations and policy from the perspective of law and economics.

Starting with the question of how companies relate to others within their own industry, the section Industrial Economics combines findings obtained from research at the sector and individual company levels. The structure of a business sector or a non-profit sector is mapped by answering questions such as what kind of businesses are there, how do they profile themselves, to what extent and in what ways do they work together, where do innovations come from, how do they spread and how do they perform financially?

The section Aviation Economics advises governments, airlines, airports, financial institutions and other interested parties on the economic issues related to aviation. Its activities include operations research, econometric analyses and forecasting, feasibility studies and research into competition and market issues, as well as work in transport and regional economics.