Labour Market Policies in Comparative Perspective

The course provides students with a comprehensive and critical understanding of contemporary labour market policy across advanced capitalist countries. Work is for most people (directly or indirectly) the most important source of their income, and it can have a big impact on social status and well-being. This makes labour market policy a particularly important field of government intervention. The course gives students an opportunity to learn about the general principles of labour market policy as well as variation across developed countries. This is a problem-oriented course that seeks to bridge theoretical and practical knowledge. It will equip students with a critical understanding of the major labour market challenges governments face today, their determinants, and the main policies discussed to tackle them. These challenges include unemployment, precarious employment, and the impact of digitalization. The emphasis is on understanding how various labour market policies function and on the politics that shape them. Since the study of labour market policy is interdisciplinary, we will touch also on economic and sociological perspectives.

1o ECTS

Bachelor

Autumn - irregular (not taught every year)