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Stef Adriaenssens

@stefa3.bsky.social
149 followers 324 following 170 posts

Economic sociologist @ Economics Dep. KU Leuven Informal & underground economy, hidden populations, sex work, begging, survival activities

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Happy about this piece of research with Teodora Soare. 👉 We collected surveys of people who beg in Brussels in the final months of 2021 and before the summer of 2022. 👉Between these waves, the Brussels city council voted a bylaw forbidding begging in the company of minors. doi.org/10.1177/0038...
doi.org
Does the law matter for the poor? Evaluating the response to a child begging regulation - Stef Adriaenssens, Teodora Soare, 2026
Some scholars argue that poverty reduces responsiveness to regulatory incentives, reducing the law’s deterrent effects. Conversely, some expect the poor to asse...
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
My neighbourhood maffioso has rebranded his extortion money: a fee it is! www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/b...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Fee Could Double the Cost of Shipping
The potential expense of a 20 percent charge to move oil and other goods through the strait has stirred concern among shippers.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
"We need more serious consideration of alternative hypotheses, more good-faith steelmanning, and more engagement with contradictory findings (...)." This should be an open door; that it is not is testimony to the problem of our discipline. #Sociology connorsinstitute.substack.com/p/rigor-or-r...
connorsinstitute.substack.com
Rigor or Ruin: Sociology’s Reckoning Has Arrived
Disseminating high-quality nonpartisan information to the American public around issues like information literacy, societal well-being, and democracy promotion.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Ideology is ... veiling "for me but not for thee" under sanctimony ... presenting benefits as costless ... seeing costs without benefits ... transferring sanctity to mundane things ... debasing sacred things to the mundane ... equating followers to "the people" ... labelling the others "un-people"
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
With all those Versailles jokes arpind, I was wondering: would anyone have dared to ask POTUS to have the signing ceremony in a train wagon?
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Patiënts just above the threshold labelled as obese (BMI 30) suffer a 40% mortality penalty when admitted to the emergency or ICU. Indeed:stigma kills. Pretty important to understand discrimination effects, also in areas such as race and sex work. #Sociology #EconSky www.nber.org/papers/w3527...
nber.org
Deadly Stigma
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Indeed. And as far as natural experiments go, at the right-hand side of the OMG distribution.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Empathie eisen van anderen maar het zelf weigeren te geven: "Wie in de grote stad leeft, stemt overwegend Democratisch, want als je buren op je lip hebt zitten, kom je er niet mee weg alle dagen een arrogante hork te zijn." www.standaard.be/opinies/hoe-...
standaard.be
Hoe herken je een Maga-Amerikaan? Een rood petje en sneren naar “de communisten in Europa” verklappen al veel
In de Verenigde Staten ontmoet Ester Meerman mensen van alle slag. Vaak progressieven in de grote steden, en veel trumpisten in landelijke gebieden. Maar er zijn uitzonderingen.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Is Bernard Arnault the Fritz Thyssen of France? www.politico.eu/article/far-...
politico.eu
Le Pen met France’s richest man and other major CEOs at secret dinner
The French business community has been trying to build bridges with the far right for months.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Happy that The Economist is focusing on the economic approach of sex work. And proud that they draw quite a bit from our research and my book "Sex Work by Numbers" (Emerald). www.economist.com/finance-and-...
economist.com
The new economics of sex work
Economists have largely ignored sex work despite it being a large industry worth almost $100bn annually, with new research methods emerging to study this complex market.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Definite proof: human societies have shrunk.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
This figure raises so many questions. Do people in Africa appreciate bread and butter more than bullets (Russia) or empty words (EU)? Is the low appreciation for the EU driven by memories of former colonisers? Is the democratic or autocratic quality of countries really irrelevant? #Afrobarometer
Positive or negative influence of external actors.
Source: Afrobarometer
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Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Problem about the loneliness epidemic is, it's everywhere except in representative survey data. Let's look at where the claim comes from. 1/
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
On a Belgian train, a man threatened an American foursome. The group flees; bystanders try to help, suggesting they call the embassy, which is declined. Suspect is arrested. Later, the group claims on FB knife threats (not found on him or on the scene) and to have received no help (not).
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Interesting analysis of the recent Commission fine imposed on X for breaching the EU Digital Services Act www.techpolicy.press/what-the-eus...
techpolicy.press
What the EU’s X Decision Reveals About How the DSA Is Enforced
The European Commission's €120M fine against X exposes how it enforces the DSA, targeting design, transparency, and data access failures across the platform.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Dear student, your introduction should be both truthful and intriguing, informing your reader and motivating her to continue. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/w...
Citation from the NYT:
It has been accused of interfering in European elections. It is searching the homes of journalists, apprehending anti-government protesters and prosecuting political opponents. And it is now eyeing the takeover of another nation’s land.

It isn’t Russia. It is the United States.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Great discussion of a great book: 'The business of pleasure' by elwinhofman.bsky.social, Magaly Rodríguez García, and Pieter Vanhees open.spotify.com/episode/4tWW...
open.spotify.com
Elwin Hofman et al. eds., "The Business of Pleasure: A History of Paid Sex in the Heart of Europe" (Leuven UP, 2022)
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Oh boy... www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
nytimes.com
Chinese Universities Surge in Global Rankings as U.S. Schools Slip
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
I am excited and proud to announce the release of my book, "Sex Work by Numbers." The electronic version will be available tomorrow, January 14, and the print version will be published on February 25. www.emerald.com/books/monogr...
emerald.com
Sex Work by Numbers: Bridging Economics and Social Sciences to Understand the Hidden World of Commercial Sex
In social science research, scholars can be challenged when those involved are vested in keeping their activities, experiences, or realities hidden. In the
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Reposted by Stef Adriaenssens
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Solid analysis here from Rosa Balfour about how European fecklessness in dealing with Trump is undermining Europe's image around the world. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...
carnegieendowment.org
The Cost of Europe’s Weak Venezuela Response
International rules are only as strong as the democratic states supporting them. In the wake of the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, Europeans have a vested interest in making a compelling case f...
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
A whole new level of globalisation: a presidency exporting its citizens to foreign gulags, and importing a fellow-strongman to a domestic prison.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
"A key emphasis very clearly in this document, when it refers to the civilisational crisis of Europe, it’s very clearly framed as racial." open.spotify.com/episode/3fWw...
open.spotify.com
The Wolf-Krugman Exchange: America vs. the world
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
This makes me think of the old "two cows" joke. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Insists Tariffs Will Buoy the Economy. For Now, He’s on Damage Control.
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Pascal Debruyne @pdbruyne.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Nieuw boek op komst. “Zichtbaar/onzichtbaar. Over bedelen in onze samenleving.” Met Mieke Schrooten en Harm Deleu. We verwerkten ons eigen drie jaar-lopend onderzoek in enkele hoofdstukken en bundelden dat met externe expertise. Bij @owlpress/ @BLPublishers begin maart 2026.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
The good thing about the past year's shitshow is that we can sing, in a decade or two, this song and see it as a literal prediction. #keeponhoping youtu.be/ifwtWF485HU?...
youtu.be
Leonard Cohen - Democracy (Official Live in London 2008)
YouTube video by LeonardCohenVEVO
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Happy to announce that I am the proud and grateful winner of the MOPP 2025. (That is: My Own Peace Prize) THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.
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Jorge Liboreiro @jorgeliboreiro.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
The reparations loan, with its proposal to immobilise the Russian assets long-term with just a qualified majority, defies both Putin and Trump. The EU, reeling from the shock of the 28-point plan, is now ready to play its most powerful card. My analysis.
euronews.com
With reparations loan for Ukraine, the EU defies both Putin and Trump
The European Union is defying external pressure from Washington and Moscow to get a seat at the table by leveraging the immobilised Russian assets held in its jurisdiction. The move is bold, but carri...
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Backlash, backlash, backlash...
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Sometimes it is hard to deny the light of the sun, even for the gloomy, the cynics, and the conspiracy cracks.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
ON A ÉLU DES KLETTES Slogan du jour Slogan of the day Slogan van de dag [541 dagen na de verkiezingen geen Brusselse regering, maar wel het schoonste belgicisme]
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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 21/11/2025
THIS!!!!!! (Former FM of Lithuania)
Gabrielius Landsbergis = @ @GLa...•2h X
There is a glaringly obvious message for Europe in 1 the 28 point plan: This is the end of the end.
We have been told repeatedly and unambiguously that Ukraine's security, and therefore Europe's security, will be Europe's responsibility. And now it is. Entirely.
If you are a European leader asking your team to book you on the next flight to Washington to go talk to Daddy, please don't.
Not without a plan, not cap in hand, not humiliating us all in front of the cameras at the Oval office.
Europe is our continent, our future is decided here, not there. We aren't poor, we have options, we can finally decide to assist Ukraine to the full extent of our very extensive capabilities, restore European dignity and defend Europe.
Or we can continue to wait for the miracle we now know is not coming.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
How to do your worst by being inefficient and immoral at the same time? Let's reduce child abuse investigating time by 33%! I do better: reassign experts in money laundering, transnational crime and counterterrorism to arrests at traffic stops and immigration courts! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
nytimes.com
Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
You start with a very very clear statement in mind, and then you remember you were trained to make plenty of qualifications, at least on average, the modal category to be precise, notwithstanding the outliers and some backfiring effects I will try to explain in a minute. You see? It's that simple!
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Shooting the piano player, Act IC. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
theguardian.com
Israel top military lawyer arrested after she admitted leaking video of soldiers’ abuse
Rightwing politicians and pundits have called the soldiers accused of attack on Palestinian detainee ‘heroes’ and military investigators traitors
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
There's a broad consensus to increase military investments. The defense sector is quite sensitive to graft, partly due to the combination of large budgets and secrecy. An easy piece of advice then would be: beef up deterrence. The US DOJ now does the opposite. Not great. www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
ftm.eu
U.S. pulls plug on major NATO corruption probes – top suspects walk free
A NATO corruption scandal made international headlines when several suspects were arrested across Europe in May. Several months later, the U.S. dropped charges against four of them – including a Turki...
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
US pundits and social media extraverts seem shocked by the demolition of a White House aisle, but much less so by the defunding that may cost 14 million lives in the coming years. Obelix would have whispered: Ils sont fous, ces A...! doi-org/10.1038/d415...
www-nature-com.kuleuven.e-bronnen.be
Shibboleth Authentication Request
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 10/10/2025
So far in 2025, Iran’s authorities have executed at least 1,106 people. Today, on World Day Against the Death Penalty, we urge the international community to apply pressure on Iranian authorities to stop their assault on rights.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
María Corina Machado, congrats! Not just a deserving Nobel peace prize winner. The message the committee seems to give by this choice is: it's democracy, stupid!
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
I thought of a paradox: the most Kremlin-friendly populists (soon) seem to rule Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. All countries that resisted and suffered from the Kremlin's iron fist in postwar central Europe. Am I right here? Any central Europe experts have an explanation?
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
One major challenge in understanding the lives of homeless people, is the lack of reliable and encompassing data. One source that is underexploited are the data produced by outreach organisations. Grateful to Diogenes for the collaboration! doi.org/10.4000/14tnx
doi.org
The role of begging in the survival strategies of Brussels street p...
Introduction A good thirty years ago, on 1 March 1993, begging and homelessness were decriminalised after many centuries. Although the phenomenon of begging is no longer a criminal offence, it has ...
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Once bitten, twice shy? The country that invented appeasement does it again. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/s...
theguardian.com
ABC barred from Trump’s UK press conference after his clash with Australian journalist John Lyons
Exclusive: London bureau of Australia’s national broadcaster informed accreditation removed for ‘logistical reasons’
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Wow...
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
"The Dunning-Kruger effect applies to smart people also. It's not just that stupid people don't know they're stupid; smart people don't know they're stupid. What happens at a certain level of wealth is, you start to believe that the genius that made you rich applies to everything."
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Wow.... Reading for pleasure falls by 40% in the US - on.ft.com/4lBx9yG via @FT
on.ft.com
Reading for pleasure falls by 40% in the US
Decline over two decades ‘deeply concerning’, say researchers of study into daily habits of Americans
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
You have to give it to them Americans: irritate your EU and Ukrainian 'allies', give a thumbs up to your kindred spirit, and kiss up to the bully. All of that with choosing a location. Faut le faire.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Waiting for a strange press conference, my train of thoughts drives me from Munich to Canossa. But hey, he didn't have to go to the dictator's crib, and no ashes to see in the POTUS coiffure. So there's hope.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Strange that "across the Atlantic" just means the anglophone mother country across the pond. Could it be related to monolingualism? www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | A Warning From Across the Atlantic for Both Democrats and Republicans
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Long time ago, we drove through Morocco by car. Panhandling in every town, except for the capital. We imagined the king could not bear the sight of misery, hence the Maghreb-style Potemkin town of Rabat. Now another prospective king plans the same .. share.google/wBM7WtByk2py...
share.google
Trump demands homeless people 'immediately' move out of Washington DC
Trump says homeless people must go "far" from the nation's capital, as part of his anti-crime plan, but the mayor pushes back.
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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
"Free speech for me, but not for thee" sums it up nicely.
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