03495 - Economic and Working Sociology

Learning outcomes

Students should acquire capacities to interpret the current transformations of economy, work and employment, and of welfare and labour market policies in a comparative perspective.

Course contents

The course is organized in lectures and seminars, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (32 hours) aim to introduce students to the core tenets of the discipline. Seminars aim to provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises. The division into lessons and seminars is specified in the program that follows. For the seminar section, students will be divided into 2 groups (14+14 hours). Therefore, a total of 46 classroom hours are scheduled for each student. Students are required to carefully read the assigned material before the session and - in the case of seminars - active participation through presentations of existing scholarship and case studies will also be expected. Regardless of the health-related conditions and the specific organization of the course, students will be able to follow the lessons of the entire course remotely on MS TEAMS.

Specifically, the following topics will be addressed:

Modern market economies and varieties of capitalistic regimes: a comparative analysis of the influence of cultural, social and political dimensions

- two definitions of economy

- economic sociology: the economy as an instituted process, the role of institutions in the economy and the concept of embeddedness

- The regulation of the economy: reciprocity, redistribution and exchange

- Varieties of capitalism: Northern Europe, Continental Europe, Anglo-Saxon model and Mediterranean model of capitalism.

-Economic sociology and labour market policies

- Labour market policies: definition, characteristics and comparative aspects

- Labour market policies: programs

- Labour market policies in Europe and the United States: from the origins till the 2000s

 

The following topics will be addressed in the seminars:

1. Growth regimes and the welfare state in advanced capitalist economies

- Hassel A. et al. [2020], “The pursuit of growth. Growth regimes, growth strategies and welfare reforms in advanced capitalist economies”, in Stato e mercato, 118 (2).

- Burroni L. et al. [2020], “Southern European political economies: In search of a road to development”, in Stato e mercato 1, aprile.

- C. Martin [2021], “Growth Strategies and Employers' Coalitions: Renewing Welfare States”, in Hassel A., Palier B. (eds), Growth and Welfare in Advanced Capitalist Economies. How Have Growth Regimes Evolved?, Oxford University Press.

- Thelen K. [2021], “Producer Coalitions and National Growth Strategies”, in Hassel A., Palier B. (eds), Growth and Welfare in Advanced Capitalist Economies. How Have Growth Regimes Evolved?, Oxford University Press.

2. Labour market policies

- Hemerijck A., [2012], "Changing Welfare States", Oxford, Oxford University Press, Chapter 2: “The New Politics of the Welfare State Revisited”.

- Bonoli G. [2010], “The Political Economy of Active Labor-Market Policy”, in Politics & Society, 38 (4).

- Vis B., [2010], Politics of Risk-taking: Welfare state reform in advanced democracies, Amsterdam University Press: Chapter 3:" Radical change or much ado about nothing?"

- Thelen K. [2014], Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity, Cambridge University Press: Chapter 4: "Labour Market Policy".

3. Gender and welfare state

- Lewis J. [1992], “Gender and the development of welfare regimes”, in Journal of European Social Policy, 2 (3).

- Orloff A. [1993], “Gender and the social rights of citizenship: the comparative analysis of gender relations and welfare states”, in American Sociological Review, 58 (3).

- Boeckmann I., et al., [2015] “Cultural and Institutional Factors Shaping Mothers’ Employment and Working Hours in Postindustrial Countries”, in Social Forces, 93 (4).

- Saraceno C., Keck W. [2010], “Can we identify intergenerational policy regimes in Europe?”, in European Societies, 12 (5).

4. Welfare state paradox and gender segregation

- Mandel H., Semyonov M. [2006], “A welfare state paradox: state interventions and women’s employment opportunities in 22 countries”, in American Journal of Sociology, 111 (6).

- Korpi W. et al. [2013], Women’s opportunities under different family policies constellations: gender, class, and equality tradeoffs in western countries re-examined”, in Social Politics, 20 (1).

- Estevez Abe M. [2006], “Gendering the varieties of capitalism. A study of occupational segregation by sex in advanced industrial societies”, in World Politics, 59.

- Charles M. [2005], “National skill regimes, post-industrialism and sex segregation”, in Social Politics, 12 (2).

5. Partisanship and active labour market policies

- Vlandas T. [2013], "Mixing apples with oranges? Partisanship and active labour market policies in Europe", in Journal of European Social Policy, 23(1)

- Cronert A. [2019], “Unemployment reduction or labor force expansion? How partisanship matters for the design of active labor market policy in Europe, in Socio-Economic Review, 17 (4).

- Tepe M., Vanhuysse P. [2012], “Parties, Unions and Activation Strategies: The Context-Dependent Politics of Active Labour Market Policy Spending”, Political Studies 61

- Iversen T, Stephens JD. [2008], “Partisan Politics, the Welfare State, and Three Worlds of Human Capital Formation”, in Comparative Political Studies, 41 (4-5).

6. Forms of dualisation. A comparative analysis

- Benassi C., Durazzi N. [2021], “Dualisation as Class Conflict: The Case of Labour Market and Vocational Training in Germany”, in Sociologia del lavoro, 159 (1)

- Clegg D. [2021], “Less Dualisation, More Segmentation: France’s Labour Market Model in the Early 21st Century”, in Sociologia del lavoro, 159 (1)

- Pulignano V., van Lancker W. [2021], “Digital Cleavages and Risk in the Platform Economy in Belgium”, in Sociologia del lavoro, 159 (1)

- Ciarini A., Rizza R. [2021], “How Stable is Dualisation? The Case of Labour Market and Antipoverty Policies in Italy”, in Sociologia del lavoro, 159 (1)

7. Street-level bureaucracy and social policies

- Brodkin, E. Z. [2011], “Policy work: Street-level organizations under new managerialism”, in Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21(2).

- Ellis, K. [2011], “Street‐level bureaucracy revisited: the changing face of frontline discretion in adult social care in England”, in Social Policy & Administration,45(3).

- Rice D., [2012], “Street-Level Bureaucrats and the Welfare State: toward a micro-institutionalist theory of policy implementation”, in Administration & Society, 45 (9).

- Paraciani R., Rizza R., [2021], “When the workplace is the home. Labour inspectors’ discretionary power in the field of domestic work: an institutional analysis”, in Journal of Public Policy, 41(1).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

Burroni L. (2016), Capitalismi a confronto. Istituzioni e regolazione dell'economia nei paesi europei, Bologna, Il Mulino

Rizza R., Scarano G. (2019), Nuovi modelli di politica del lavoro, Milano, Egea, Università Bocconi Editore

Teaching methods

The course is divided in different parts: lectures will be alternated with seminars.

Assessment methods

Two written examinations for students who attend classes, an oral examination for other students

Teaching tools

Videos, essays and articles not included in the texts, but particularly significant for the topics covered in class.

Slides and other teaching materials will be available to the students in electronic format on Virtuale. Username and password are reserved for students enrolled at the University of Bologna.

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Rizza

See the website of