Welfare states in a changing Europe (Provisional) Syllabus (2011)

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1 The Department of Sociology, Stockholm University Welfare states in a changing Europe (Provisional) Syllabus (2011) Course directors: Associate Professor Tommy Ferrarini Associate Professor Kenneth Nelson tommyf@sofi.su.se. Phone: Room: F921 kennethn@sofi.su.se. Phone: Room: F 901 Teachers Professor Ola Sjöberg ola.sjoberg@sofi.su.se. Phone: Room: F842 Professor Walter Korpi walter.korpi@sofi.su.se. Phone: Room: F844 Course content The rapid pace of technological, economic, political, and socio-demographic change, accelerated by the recent enlargement of the European Union, has intensified the pressures placed European social protection. The course Welfare States in a Changing Europe provides a comprehensive introduction to comparative research on class, gender and politics in modern welfare states. The main purpose of the course is to establish linkages between the organization of social policy and outcomes in terms of the living conditions and life chances of European citizens. We will also discuss different theoretical traditions for explaining the emergence and subsequent development of modern welfare states, including the most prominent insights from sociology, economics and political science. Another theme concerns diverse institutional forms in the area of social policy and the methodology associated with comparative sociology. Learning outcomes Upon the completion of the course the student is expected to be able to: 1) Account for the concept of welfare state regimes and contrast the institutional characteristics of social policies in different countries, 2) Critically discuss theories that attempts to explain institutional diversity of welfare states, 3) Analyse and critically evaluate the relationship between social policy and outcomes, such as poverty, health, labour market stratification and fertility. Types of teaching Teaching is based on lectures in English, where students are expected to participate actively.

2 Assessment and examination of learning outcomes The course will be assessed in the form of a course paper of a selected topic relevant for the course (8-10 pages long). A requirement to get grade A or B is that the final essay is delivered no later than Friday March 26 (except in case of sickness or the like). The assessment of the course paper is based on the following grades: A=Excellent. The grade A will be given to essays that have an innovative and creative research question and approach. The student must demonstrate excellent knowledge and understanding of the course literature as well as in-depth critical reflection and excellent analytical ability. The essay must have a clearly stated purpose, a clear structure and display a reader-friendly coherence. The text should be free from mistakes as concerns references, the use of quotations etc ( formalia ). B=Very Good. The grade B will be given to essays that have a creative research question. The student must demonstrate good understanding of the course literature as well as critical reflections and good analytical ability. The essay must have a clearly stated purpose, a clear structure and display a reader-friendly coherence. The text should be free from major mistakes as concerns references, the use of quotations etc ( formalia ). C=Good. The grade C will be given to essays that have a clearly stated research question, a clear structure and display a reader-friendly coherence. The student must demonstrate an ability to identify main perspectives and conflicting viewpoints in the literature relevant for the chosen topic. The text should contain few mistakes as concerns references, the use of quotations etc ( formalia ). D=Satisfactory. The grade D will be given to essays that have a clearly stated research question, a clear structure and display a reader-friendly coherence. The student must demonstrate good knowledge of the main theories and empirical findings covered in the course. The text should contain few mistakes as concerns references, the use of quotations etc ( formalia ). E=Sufficient. The grade E will be given to essays that have a clearly stated research question, a clear structure and display a reader-friendly coherence. The student must demonstrate a basic understanding of the literature. Fx=Not sufficient. To achieve this grade, the student needs to demonstrate some understanding of the main topics discussed, along with sporadic gaps in basic knowledge. F=Fail. No or very little understanding of main topics and literature. Large gaps in basic knowledge. No in-depth understanding.

3 A-E will count as pass on the course. Students who receive Fx or F have the right to undergo additional examination to receive the lowest grade E. Students who received the grade E or higher cannot undergo a new examination with the purpose of improving the grade. Students who received the grade Fx or F twice by the examiner have the right to request another examiner to decide upon the grade for the course. The request should be forwarded to the Director of Studies who will appoint a new examiner. Literature The basic textbook for this course is: Cousins, M. (2005) European welfare states: Comparative perspectives. London: Sage, available for purchase at Akademibokhandeln, Frescati. In addition, participants are required to read a selection of articles for each seminar. Note that it is up to the participants themselves to obtain copies of these articles (except some articles that will be posted on MONDO or handed out)

4 Schedule Date Time Place Seminar Wednesday, February F379 1.Introduction Tommy Ferrarini Friday, February F371 2.Welfare state institutions and institutional feedback Kenneth Nelson Monday, February D271 3.Causes of Welfare State Diversity Walter Korpi Friday, February F379 4.Welfare state regimes Ola Sjöberg Monday, February F363 5.Welfare states and poverty Kenneth Nelson Wednesday, March F355 6.Towards a European social model? Kenneth Nelson Friday, March F331 7.Gendering Welfare States Tommy Ferrarini Tuesday, March F Family Policy Outcomes Tommy Ferrarini Friday, March F371 9.Course Summary, Evaluation and Outline of Course Paper Tommy Ferrarini and Kenneth Nelson Friday, March 18 Course paper to be delivered

5 Readings Seminar 1 (Wednesday, February 16): Introduction (Tommy Ferrarini) 1. Cousins: page 1-57; Marshall, T. H. (1950). Citizenship and Social Class. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.* 3. Myles, J. & J. Quadagno. (2002). Political Theories of the Welfare State. Social Service Review, vol. 76: * 4. Estevez-Abe, M., T. Iversen & D. Soskice. (1999). Social Protection and the Formation of Skills: A Reinterpretation of the Welfare State. Paper presented at the 95th American Political Association Meeting, Atlanta, September 2-5, Seminar 2 (Friday, February 18): Welfare state institutions and institutional feedback (Kenneth Nelson) 1. Immergut, E. (1998) The Theoretical Core of New Institutionalism. Politics and Society, vol.26(1): Pierson, P. (1996). The New Politics of the Welfare State. World Politics, vol. 48(2): Korpi, W. (2003). Welfare-State Regress in Western Europe: Politics, Institutions, Globalization and Europeanization Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 29: Seminar 3 (Monday, February 21): Causes of Welfare State Diversity (Walter Korpi) Preliminary literature for seminar Korpi, Walter (1985), Power Resources Approach vs. Action and Conflict: On Causal and. Intentional Explanation in the Study of Power, Sociological Theory. 1 See also M. Estevez-Abe, T. Iversen and D. Soskice, Social Protection and Skill Formation: A Reinterpretation of the Welfare State, pp in P. Hall and D. Soskice (eds) (2001), Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

6 2. Korpi, W. (2003). Contentious Institutions: An Augmented Rational-Actor Analysis of the Origins and Path Dependency of Welfare State Institutions in the Western Countries Rationality and Society May 2001 vol. 13 no Seminar 4 (Friday, February 25): Welfare state regimes (Ola Sjöberg) 1. Arts, W. A. and J. Gelissen (2002) Three worlds of welfare capitalism or more? A state-of-theart report. Journal of European Social Policy, vol. 12(2): (2002). 2. Kasza, G. J. (2002) The Illusion of Welfare Regimes. Journal of Social Policy, vol. 31(2): Abrahamson, P. The Welfare Modeling Business. Social Policy and Administration, Vol. 33(4): Esping-Andersen, G. (1989) Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, vol. 26: * 5. Korpi, W. and J. Palme (1998) The Paradox of Redistribution and Strategies of Equality: Welfare State Institutions, Inequality, and Poverty in the Western Countries. American Sociological Review, vol. 63(5): Seminar 5 (Monday, February 28): Welfare states and poverty (Kenneth Nelson) 1. Nelson, K. (2004) Mechanisms of Poverty Alleviation in the Welfare State. A Comparative Study of Anti-poverty Effects of Non Means-tested and Means-tested Benefits in Five Countries in the 1990s. Journal of European Social Policy 14 (4). 2. Korpi, W. and Palme, J. (1998) The Paradox of Redistribution and Strategies of Equality: Welfare Institutions, Inequality and Poverty in the Western Countries, American Sociological Review 63: Seminar 6 (Wednesday, March 2): Towards a European social model? (Kenneth Nelson) 1. Cousins, M. (2005). European Welfare States. Comparative Perspectives. London: Sage. Chapters 3, 9, Pierson, P. (1996). The New Politics of the Welfare State. World Politics 48 (2): Nelson, K. (2008). Minimum Income Protection and European Integration: Trends and Levels of Minimum Benefits in Comparative Perspective International Journal of Health Services, Vol. 38(1).* 4. Montanari, I., Nelson, K., Palme, J. (2008). Towards a European Social Model? Trends in Social Insurance among EU countries European Societies, 10 (5). 5. Montanari, I., Nelson, K., Palme, J. (2007). Convergence Pressures and Responses: Recent Social Insurance Developments in Modern Welfare States. Comparative Sociology, Vol. 6(3).

7 6. Palme, J., K. Nelson, O. Sjöberg & R. Minas. (2009). European Social Models, Protection and Inclusion. Research Report 2009:1. Stockholm: Institute for Futures Studies. Seminar 7 (Friday, March 4): Gendering Welfare States (Tommy Ferrarini) 1. Korpi, Walter. (2000). Faces of Inequality: Gender, Class, and Patterns of Inequalities in Different Types of Welfare States. Social Politics 7 (2): Walter K., T. Ferrarini and S. Englund. (2009). Egalitarian Gender Paradise Lost? Reexamining Gender Inequalities in Different Types of Welfare States. Stencil. 3. Orloff, A.S. (2009). Gendering the Comparative Analysis of Welfare States: An Unfinished Agenda. Sociological Theory. Sociological Theory 27(3): Seminar 8 (Tuesday, March 8): Family Policy Outcomes (Tommy Ferrarini) 1. Mandel, H. and M. Shalev. (2009). How Welfare States Shape the Gender Pay Gap: A Theoretical and Comparative Analysis. Social Forces 87(4): Walter K., T. Ferrarini and S. Englund. (2009). Egalitarian Gender Paradise Lost? Reexamining Gender Inequalities in Different Types of Welfare States. Stencil.* 3. Ferrarini, T., and A-Z. Duvander. (2010). Earner-Carer Model at the Cross-Roads: Reforms and Outcomes of Sweden s Family policy in Comparative Perspective. International Journal of Health Services 40(3): * Seminar 9 (Thursday, March 10): Course Summary, Evaluation and Outline of Course Paper (Tommy Ferrarini & Kenneth Nelson)