EUSECON consists of a series of thematically-defined work packages (WP). Each work package includes a variety of tasks that contribute to our knowledge concerning the economics of security. The first work package will provide the main background and conceptual framework for the remainder of the project.
Other work packages focus on human-induced insecurity. This ranges from micro-economic processes (WPs 2 & 3) to macro-economic impacts and opportunities (WPs 4 & 5).
 
EUSECON also has a specifically policy-oriented component. An evaluation of EU security policy (WP6) will be carried out over the course of the project, and the results emerging from the various work packages will serve as inputs into the analysis of policy implications (WP7). The result will be a strengthened capacity to provide policy advice on issues related to the economics of security.
 
The following provides a brief overview of the individual work packages.
 
WP 1: Conceptual Framework of Insecurity
During the inception phase of EUSECON, an initial framework will be formulated that lays the conceptual foundations of all research activities to be undertaken throughout the project. This work package, led by Tilman Brück at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), consists of two main objectives. The first is to provide a conceptual and theoretical framework for analyzing human-induced security threats in Europe. The conceptual framework will evaluate the validity of conventional notions of security and security provision, and it will assess their relevance in the present context of insecurity. Secondly, WP1 seeks to identify the potential of security economics to contribute to knowledge creation, as well as to complement other research disciplines. The scheduled running time of this work package is March to September 2008, at which point various conceptual and background papers will be made available.
 
WP 2: Micro-economic analysis of the structure and behavior of different agents of insecurity
This work package, led by the Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, addresses the role of human and financial resources as driving forces of terrorism and organized crime. The nature and impact of permissive environments and public support on the incidence and scope of acts of terrorism and organized crime will also be analyzed. WP2 incorporates highly time-consuming data collection, cleaning, evaluation, and storage to substantiate existing theoretical models with rigorous empirical analysis. This work package also incorporates an intensive review and fine tuning of current methodological tools to analyze micro-economic dynamics.
 
WP 3: The Micro-economic analysis of individual and private sector responses to insecurity and security policies
This work package, led by DIW Berlin, examines the effects of insecurity on individuals and firms through an analysis of how these agents respond in the face of increased levels of insecurity. The impact of security policies on private individuals will also be assessed.
 
WP 4: The Macro-economic analysis of economic impacts of insecurity and security policies
This work package, led by the University of Patras, is concerned with the macro-level effects of both insecurity and security policies. It will analyze the economic significance of human-induced insecurity (terrorism and organized crime), as well as assess the economic impacts and trade-offs of European security policies. WP4 will focus not only on the real economy but also on the monetary economy, examining the impacts of large scale shocks on stock and capital markets.
 
WP 5: The security industry
This work package, led by Isdefe, an independent Spanish systems engineering firm, will focus on gathering accurate and reliable data on the European security industry. With this information, a structure-conduct-performance paradigm will be used to perform an analysis of this sector. This work package concentrates especially on the economic opportunities for the security industry. It will examine the market structure, the behavior of firms, and the performance of the marketing system as a whole. WP5 will expand the data available on the European security industry, clarify European competitiveness, and deepen the knowledge of this sector in general.
 
WP 6: EU security policy
This work package, led by the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, analyses current threat perceptions and preferred policy instruments across the EU. It also examines the processes behind EU security policy formulation. On that basis, WP6 sets out to evaluate EU security policies in terms of comprehensive cost-benefit analysis. It also looks at security in a global framework by comparing security policies in the EU, the US, and the developing world. This work package aims to identify possible forms of international cooperation and to strengthen the security policy in the least developed countries (LDCs) as part of a comprehensive European security strategy.
 
WP 7: Policy implications
This work package, led by DIW Berlin, will synthesize policy-relevant knowledge generated through each of the other work packages, and it will scrutinize their implications in relation to each other. WP7 will ensure the actual practical applicability of each of the policy conclusions derived from the academic research and provide advice on their implementation.