TBC

Compulsory on the Executive MSc Political Economy of Europe. Not available to students on other programmes.

The aim of the course is to apply concepts of economics and political economy to social policies in European welfare states. The seminars establish the theoretical context, summarise the findings of quantitative comparative case studies and discuss European experience in the context of broader international experience. They then build on these concepts and apply them to qualitative case studies of welfare state arrangements in member states, considering in particular the role of social policy legislation and coordination at the EU level. The course will provide students with the conceptual and empirical background to enable them to answer questions such as: What does economic theory and political economy tell us about the design of welfare states? How do social policies in European welfare states reconcile equity and efficiency? What drives or stalls reform dynamics in member states? What are the proper boundaries of EU social policy? Is the EU gradually developing into a social union, through international mobility and the portability of social entitlements?

27 hours of seminars.

One formative essay - 2,000 words

Barr, N. (2012) The Economics of the Welfare State, 5th ed., Oxford: Oxford UP; Leibfried, S (2010) European Social Policy: Left to Judges and the Market? In H Wallace, M Pollack and A.Young, Policy-Making in the European Union, ch 10 (or earlier edition); Pierson, P. (ed) (2001) The New Politics of the Welfare State, Oxford: Oxford University Press; Scharpf, F.W. and Schmidt, V.A. (eds.) (2000) Welfare and Work in the Open Economy, 2 vols, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Exam (50%, duration: 3 hours) and essay (50%, 2000 words).