Team’s Research Programme As societal institutions are changing under global and endogenous pressures, the “rules of the game” once seen as “frozen” institutional landscapes are eroding. Theories of institutional change have thus far concentrated too much on explaining path dependent inertia, while the process and mechanisms of change have remained less explored. According to scholars as Douglas North, Peter Hall or Rainer Lepsius, we can explain these changes in relation to shifting interests and ideas. The changes in societal institutions from social policy to education and labour markets will have major effects on the living conditions, patterns of trust, and legitimacy in European societies. Since some politically induced reform processes and subterranean social transformations imply a long-term path departure, available methodological concepts for the thus far rather static comparative analysis of institutions are in need for revision. Welfare state institutions, for instance, are still modeled as welfare regimes that are used in a rather time-invariant way even if they potentially allow for measuring dynamic processes of departure from an ideal-type model. This team focuses on more specific societal institutions in a time-varying manner instead of broad welfare state arrangements. The research covers theoretical aspects of institutional change, methodological frameworks for identifying and measuring these processes, effects of political reforms on (welfare state) institutions, empirical studies of institutional developments, and the outcomes of these changes.
Call for Papers- We welcome research focusing on the following topics:
- Theorizing institutional change – e.g. in relation to the VoC, employment regimes, or welfare state regimes Under this topic we would like to connect to the idea of regimes, welfare, production, employment, and the broader VoC literature, and in particular confront the often static characterization of such regime configurations. The emphasis would be on analyzing regime change and hybridization.
- Methodological frameworks and empirical evidence of institutional change The focus is on developing good indicators for institutional change and institutions, both for formal and informal institutions (programs, benefits, costs, laws, unions, employment protection but also change of social norms, attitudes, expectations). In that area welcome papers drawing both on comparative surveys like ESS, EVS, and historical comparative case studies.
- Social learning, global diffusion of ideas and institutional change We welcome proposals that engage with the literature on learning and diffusion (e.g. in the European context of OMC and Lisbon process), especially papers that work along the line of “from ideas to words to deeds” (V. Smith) (the ideational aspect). Papers that take us outside of the EU are also welcome.
- Policy reforms, institutional change, and the outcomes of new institutional settings We would like to connect research in sociology and political economy on reforms in various areas of the welfare state to actual outcomes with respect to social programs, employment, equality, cohesion. The topic would then connect two streams in literature: 1) how the reforms are possible and 2) how reforms matter to people.
- A selection of drafts presented at the workshop will be considered for a special issue of a journal (to be defined) or an edited volume.
Workshop organizers Bernhard Ebbinghaus (MZES), Monika-Ewa Kaminska (AIAS), Jelle Visser (AIAS), Claus Wendt (MZES)
Contact
Monika-Ewa Kaminska
[email protected]
AIAS
Plantage Muidergracht 12
1018 TV Amsterdam
+31 20 525 7210
Team Members
- Bernhard Ebbinghaus
- Jelle Visser
- Claus Wendt
- Mare Ainsaar
- Olof Bäckman
- Thomas Bahle
- Agnes Blome
- Johan De Deken
- Stefan Englund
- Mareike Gronwald
- Jan Paul Heisig
- Karl Hinrichs
- Monika-Ewa Kaminska
- Walter Korpi
- Christian Albrekt Larsen
- Bertrand Maitre
- Ive Marx
- Monika Mischke
- Ingalill Montanari
- Kenneth Nelson
- Wim van Oorschot
- Joakim Palme
- Reinhard Pollak
- Justin Powell
- Nadine Reibling
- Stijn Rottiers
- Christopher T.Whelan