Dr Angelo Martelli

This course is available on the MSc in European and International Politics and Policy, MSc in European and International Politics and Policy (LSE and Bocconi), MSc in European and International Politics and Policy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in European and International Public Policy (LSE and Bocconi), MSc in European and International Public Policy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (International Employment Relations/CIPD), MSc in Political Economy of Europe, MSc in Political Economy of Europe (LSE and Fudan) , MSc in Political Economy of Europe (LSE and Sciences Po) and MSc in Political Science (Political Science and Political Economy). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access) and demand is typically high. Priority is given to students from the European Institute, so students from outside this programme may not get a place.

The aim of the course is to apply concepts of economics and political economy to social policies in European welfare states and migration. The lectures establish the theoretical context, summarise the findings of quantitative case studies and discuss European experiences in the context of broader international experience. The seminars will further develop political-economic concepts, such as market and government failure, 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. We rely on the main models used to explain the migration decision and explore the main economic effects of migration and its welfare state nexus. 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? Is the EU gradually developing into a social union, through international mobility and the portability of social entitlements? What does a globally coordinated governance of migration entail?

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars totalling a minimum of 27.5 hours across Winter Term. This course includes a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term, and a review session will be held at the start of the Summer Term to prepare for the final assessment.

In addition to standard lectures and seminars, there will be a simulation of G-20 negotiations on migration near the end of Winter Term, played over 2.5 hours. The simulation will see students working in teams to represent the interests of particular nations and international organisations involved in global migration governance. A review session will be held at the start of the Summer Term to prepare for the final assessment.

Students will be expected to produce 1 presentation and 1 short formative essay (1200 words).

• Barr, N. (2020) The Economics of the Welfare State, 6th ed., Oxford: Oxford UP;
• Anderson, Karen (2015) Social policy in the European Union. Palgrave, 2015.
• Alesina et al (2019) “Immigration and Preferences for Redistribution in Europe”, IZA Discussion paper
• Borjas G. (2014) “Immigration Economics”, Harvard University Press
• Dustmann, C. (2003) “Return Migration, Wage Differentials, and the Optimal Migration Duration”, European Economic Review, Vol. 47, pp. 353-367.
• Dustmann, C., Glitz A. & Frattini T. (2008) "The labour market impact of immigration." Oxford Review of Economic Policy 24.3: 477-494.
• Dustmann, C., & Frattini, T. (2014). “The fiscal effects of immigration to the UK”. The economic journal, 124(580), F593-F643.
• Facchini, Giovanni. and Anna M. Mayda (2009), ‘Does the welfare state affect individual attitudes towards immigrants: Evidence across countries’, Review of Economics and Statistics, 91, 291-314.
• Kanbur, R. and H. Rappoport (2005), “Migration selectivity and the evolution of spatial inequality”, Journal of Economic Geography.
• Roy, A. D. (1951) "Some Thoughts on the Distribution of Earnings," Oxford Economic Papers (New Series), 3, 135-146.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the spring exam period.

The summative assessment will take the form of an e-exam in the Spring Term. E-exams are assessments run under invigilated exam conditions on campus. Students will complete the assessment using software downloaded to their personal laptops.