SA4M1 Half Unit
Politics of Social Policy: Welfare and Work in Comparative Perspective
This information is for the 2014/15 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Timo Fleckenstein OLD1.17
Availability
This course is available on the MPA in European Public and Economic Policy, MPA in International Development, MPA in Public Policy and Management, MPA in Public and Economic Policy, MPA in Public and Social Policy, MSc in Comparative Politics, MSc in Gender, Policy and Inequalities, MSc in Political Economy of Europe, MSc in Political Economy of Europe (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Political Sociology, MSc in Politics and Government in the European Union, MSc in Politics and Government in the European Union (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Public Policy and Administration, MSc in Social Policy (European and Comparative Social Policy), MSc in Social Policy (Research) and MSc in Social Policy (Social Policy and Planning). This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.
Course content
The course explores the politics of social policy in advanced political economies. In the first part of the course, the main analytical approaches for the cross-national analysis of welfare states are introduced (such as the industrialism thesis, the power resources model, new institutionalism, feminist theory and the globalisation thesis). These will be examined in the context of the rise of modern welfare states and their transformations since the end of the 'Golden Age' in the mid-1970s. These analyses and the theoretical approaches to cross-national study of welfare states will be harnessed in the second part of the course when the focus shifts towards more recent policy developments since the 1990s. The empirical focus is on the welfare-and-work nexus. The course analyses the development of labour market and family policies in Nordic countries, Continental Europe, Anglo-phone countries and East Asia.
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT.
Formative coursework
Seminar members will be expected to make presentations to the seminar, and submit a formative essay of 1,500 words.
Indicative reading
Bonoli, Giuliano, and Natali, David, eds. (2012) The Politics of the New Welfare State, Oxford: OUP.
Castles, Frances G. et al., eds. (2010) The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, Oxford: OUP.
Clasen, Jochen, and Clegg, Daniel, eds. (2013) Regulating the Risk of Unemployment: National Adaptations to Post-Industrial Labour Markets in Europe, Oxford: OUP.
Kersbergen, Kees van and Vis, Barbara (2013) Comparative Welfare State Politics: Development, Opportunities, and Reform, Cambridge: CUP.
Lewis, Jane (2009) Work-Family Balance, Gender and Policy, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
Assessment
Essay (100%, 3000 words).
Student performance results
(2011/12 - 2012/13 combined)
Classification | % of students |
---|---|
Distinction | 13 |
Merit | 47.8 |
Pass | 39.1 |
Fail | 0 |
Key facts
Department: Social Policy
Total students 2013/14: 14
Average class size 2013/14: 14
Controlled access 2013/14: Yes
Lecture capture used 2013/14: No
Value: Half Unit
Course survey results
(2011/12 - 2012/13 combined)
1 = "best" score, 5 = "worst" scoreThe scores below are average responses.
Response rate: 100%
Question |
Average | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reading list (Q2.1) |
1.3 | ||||||
Materials (Q2.3) |
1.4 | ||||||
Course satisfied (Q2.4) |
1.6 | ||||||
Lectures (Q2.5) |
1.4 | ||||||
Integration (Q2.6) |
1.6 | ||||||
Contact (Q2.7) |
1.7 | ||||||
Feedback (Q2.8) |
1.3 | ||||||
Recommend (Q2.9) |
|