The present project aims at the fundamental understanding of NAnocomposites MUltifunctionnal ELectrodes (NAMUEL) made of electronically conducting polymers (ECP) or pi-conjugated oligomers with aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT). Among the numerous possible applications, these NAMUEL will be studied mainly through their electrochemical properties, in supercapacitor configuration but several applications, like solid state dye-sensitized solar cells, electrochemical sensors or CO2 storage are possible with such nanomaterials. These applications are of importance nowadays in term of energy conversion saving or storage, environmental health. Supercapacitors and photovoltaics will be mainly studied in this project since the LPPI has a strong experience in these two fields. Concerning electrochemical sensors, this field is emerging in the laboratory since 2 years and the nanocomposites will be studied as possible electrode materials. In the case of CO2 storage, the potentialities of NAMUEL will be ‘only’ estimated as possible future development. Concerning supercapacitors, some major drawbacks of the ECP (their limited electrochemical cyclability, short-time stability) and of the CNT (fabrication costs, health risk) are usually presented as deep technological brakes for their possible commercial development. For these reasons, there is no strong demand from industry actually for the development of such hybrid nanomaterials. For example, at this time industry requires supercapacitors as energy or power supply components (batteries replacement, stationary power systems…). Then supercapacitors made from ECP are not yet enough attractive due to their low performance in term of cyclability compared to existing solutions like porous carbon powder components. Nevertheless, the emergence of room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) offers new perspectives to improve these materials. Then, in combination with the large CNT specific area (ca. 50m²/g) the nanocomposites ECP/CNT become more attractive. Moreover, supercapacitors made with ECP and CNT may be used as micro-power sources (µ-supercapacitors) in organic electronic systems. Indeed, one of the main innovative advantages of ECP/CNT nanohybrids is the possibility to reach higher current densities and frequencies of charge/discharge cycles. For that, the nanocomposites require a deep control of their morphology and the thickness of the ECP onto the CNT as well as a fine control of the CNT purity, density, thickness and alignment. These points will be largely developed in this project not only for supercapacitors applications, but also for the others mentioned above because these nanocomposites electrodes have versatile employments. For photovoltaïc devices, the nanocomposite offers an interesting possibility to elaborate a TiO2/Dye||ECP/CNT cell that can improve the conversion efficiency compared to existing systems (solid-Graetzel cells, conversion~1-3%). The hole transport will occur in an optimized thin solid layer, so that the undesired recombination’s probabilities will be as low as possible. For electrochemical sensors, these nanocomposites afford a convenient way to increase the number of interaction sites of the analyte at the surface of the electrode. For example, electrochemical sensors are less sensitive if the electrode area is small. Reducing their area (example in the field of biology with micro-electrodes) must be compensated by porous electrodes. Development of detection µ-systems requires the use of smaller electrodes (at the µ-level scale) like the nanocomposite electrode we mean to fabricate. For CO2 storage, it is important to improve the density of active sites able to store CO2. NAMUEL may be appropriate candidates in such application. However, the storage capacity will be ‘only’ evaluated through some experiments with a collaborator

Most economic environments are characterized by uncertainty. Economic agents thus have to make decisions, the consequences of which cannot be known ex ante. Decision theory studies this process of decision making and tries to identify how the description of uncertainty influences beliefs, and through them, the evaluation of uncertain acts. This, in turn, allows us to make testable predictions about behavior and study the implications of uncertainty on economic outcomes. Ambiguity, i.e., the fact that decision makers face uncertainty about the probability distribution governing the outcomes, has been found to have a significant impact on human behavior. In this project, we study decision making under ambiguity when information is provided in the form of data. While data carry objective information about the stochastic process of outcomes, this information might be insufficient to uniquely identify the probability distribution of outcomes. We examine the relation between objective information provided by data and decision maker's beliefs about uncertain outcomes. We analyze how the type and frequency of observations combine with the subjective characteristics of the decision maker to determine his beliefs and, in turn his behavior in view of this ambiguity. An important question in decision theory concerns the value of additional information. While it is known that for Bayesian agents, additional information is always beneficial, this need not be the case for agents who are not neutral towards ambiguity. We thus study the value of acquiring additional data as a function of the characteristics of the data and the individual characteristics of the agent, such as his degrees of optimism and pessimism. In the second part of the project, we apply the framework developed above to different economic problems characterized by ambiguity. We study the behavior of ambiguity-averse investors in a financial market and identify the long-run impact of ambiguity and ambiguity-aversion on equilibrium prices and allocations. We analyze the process of technology adoption as an important mechanism of adaptation to climate change. In particular, we examine the impact of optimism and pessimism on learning and on optimal technology choice. We also evaluate different policies designed to stimulate early adoption. Finally, we study the decision of market participation, when markets provide different type and different quantity of information. We show that agents self-select into markets depending on their preferences for information, which, in turn determines the market structure in a given economy. We use these insights to derive implications for the optimal design and regulation of markets.

Recent research has revealed the strong intergenerational correlation of income and other economic outcomes in developed and developing countries. A wide array of phenomena is likely to account for the intergenerational transmission of economic status, as discussed in many areas of the social sciences : primary socialization, role models, expectations and preferences, social capital, to name just a few. Economic analysis also emphasizes the role of resource constraints in the accumulation of human capital. Understanding what determinants drive the intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status appears crucial in many respects. Not only for our understanding of the dynamics of inequality in modern societies by also for the design efficient remedial policies that are able to promote equality of opportunity. Better knowledge of the influence of social policies on the intergenerational transmission of economic inequality is also required. To address these issues, this research program advances two main research directions. First, it develops the analysis of the extent and determinants of the intergenerational transmission of economic status, in particular labour market outcomes (earnings, employment) and educational attainment. Second, it examines the efficiency of schooling policies in reducing the intergenerational transmission of inequality. The analysis will be empirical, quantitative, and will resort to econometric techniques to exploit micro-economic data. However, this analysis is firmly rooted in modern theoretical models of household behaviour. The primary emphasis is on the French case but the program also includes a comparative assessment of several aspects of intergenerational mobility, in developed and developing countries. In the first part of this research project, we will provide a richer characterization of the extent and determinants of intergenerational economic mobility. To do so we offer three significant extensions of the empirical framework usually applied in empirical work. First, we will examine trends in intergenerational economic mobility over the last 50 years and examine the influence, on the intergenerational transmission of earnings, of macro variables such as the overall earnings inequality, the degree educational mobility and the returns to education. Second, while most analysis of intergenerational mobility are usually confined to the study of two consecutive generations, we will make use of data on grand-parents' socio-economic status to analyse long-run intergenerational mobility over three generations to provide a richer account of the dynamics of inequality across generations. Third, we will examine the influence, on individual economic outcomes, of several family characteristics such as maternal input, family size or family human capital along with family income. Special attention will be paid to the identification of the causal impact of these various aspects of family background. This research, which will extend our understandings of the determinants of mobility in France will be supplemented by an original analysis of economic mobility in Japan, a country so far absent from international comparisons. In the second part of this research project, we will assess the efficiency of educational policy in fostering equality of opportunity. To this end, we will concentrate on three aspects of educational systems. First, we will examine how educational systems can mitigate the influence of a disadvantaged family background, through its impact on the degree of social segregation across schools and via the allocation of educational inputs. This analysis will be undertaken in an international perspective, will focus on inequality of educational achievement, as measured by results to test scores and will require the estimation of education production functions. Second we will turn to individual educational career in order to identify the dynamics that lead to the emergence of educational inequality. We will examine the dynamics of individual achievement, evaluate the dynamic impact of grade transitions and repetitions and compare these dynamics across students who differ in terms of the characteristics of their family background. Last, we will question the efficiency of early remedial intervention, under the form of pre-school enrollment, at alleviating the detrimental influence of coming from a disadvantaged family background and promoting equal life chances. This research program will be conducted by a small research group, including a majority of young researchers, over a period of three years.