François Rycx is Professor of Economics at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and affiliated to the Centre Emile Bernheim (CEBRIG), the Department of Applied Economics of ULB (DULBEA), the Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES) at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), and Soci&ter at the University of Mons (UMONS). He is currently visiting professor at the Louvain School of Economics (UCL) and part-time professor at the University of Mons (FWEG, UMONS).

His research is in the area of empirical labour and personnel economics, in particular the analysis of matched employer-employee data to uncover the determinants of productivity, wages and cost-competitiveness. He does also research on labour market institutions (e.g. trade unions, minimum wages), educational mismatch, migration, discrimination, workforce diversity and firm performance, ageing and employability, global value chains and offshoring, sickness absenteeism, and credit constraints.

He has advised various organisations including the European Central Bank, Eurofound, the European Trade Union Institute, the National Bank of Belgium, the European Commission, the King Baudouin Foundation and the OECD.

He co-edited several books (Palgrave) and special issues of scientific journals, and published in Applied Economics, Applied Economics Quarterly, British Journal of Industrial Relations, De Economist, Economic and Social Review, Economics of Education Review, Economics of Transition, Education Economics, Empirica, European Journal of Industrial Relations, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, International Journal of Manpower, IZA Journal of Development and Migration, IZA Journal of Labor Economics, IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Journal of Economic Inequality, Journal of Financial Stability, Journal of Sports Economics, Kyklos, LABOUR: Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations, Oxford Economic Papers, Regional Studies, Review of Economics of the Household, Review of International Economics, Review of World Economics, The Manchester School, The World Economy, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Socio-Economic Review and other journals. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Manpower.

He joined IZA as a Research Fellow in April 2005.