Lliure Elecció (9991)

POST-INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY AND SOCIETY(80728) 

This course is inter-disciplinary, combining economic, sociological and politicological contributions to the understanding of the dynamics of change in advanced countries, and the emerging ‘post-industrial’ order.

The first part of the course is dedicated to theoretical perspectives and controversies on the service economy and the transition from a predominantly industrial towards a postindustrial order.

The second part will focus on employment consequences: occupational and sectoral shifts, changes in the supply and demand for labor, skill changes, and the composition of the labor force. Special attention will be given to the revolution in women’s economic role, and to the problem of productivity in services.

The third part examines the consequences of change for economic inequality and social divisions: is a new class structure emerging? Will society become more or less polarized? Who are the winners and losers in the new economy?

The fourth part will focus on the demographic aspects transformation. We shall in particular examine the two critical long-term scenarios of population aging and of greater family instability and new household forms.

The fifth part turns to the public policy consequences, with special focus on labor market and social policy dilemmas. The question we ask here is: what should the welfare state architecture for the 21 ^st Century look like? How can we maximize social justice and economic progress?

The exam will consist of a short written paper (in Spanish is OK). Students will be evaluated also in terms of their active participation in the course (30% of final grade).

Bibliography

Books (specific chapters will be assigned during the course)
BELL, D. The Coming of Post-industrial Society. New York: Basic Books, 1976. [Introduction only].
BLOCK, F. Post-industrial Possibilities. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. [Introduction only].
ESPING-ANDERSEN, G. Social Foundations of Post-industrial Economies. Oxford University Press, 1999. [Chapters will be assigned during the course]. Traducción al castellano: Fundamentos sociales de las economías postindustriales. Barcelona: Ariel, 2001.
GERSHUNY, J. After Industrial Society. The Emerging Self-service Economy. London: Macmillan, 1978. [Recommended, but not required].
Articles
CLARK, T.; LIPSET, S. M. ‘Are social classes dying?’ In International Sociology, 4: pp. 397-410. 1991.
ESPING-ANDERSEN, G. ‘Politics without class: post-industrial cleavages in Europe and America’. In H. KITSCHELT et al. (ed.) Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1999.
ESPING-ANDERSEN, G. A New Social Model for Europe. Report to the Lisbon Summit Meeting of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU, 2000.
SAINT-PAUL, G. ‘Exploring the political economy of labour market institutions’. Economic Policy, 23: pp. 263-316. 1996.
SCHULZE, G.; URSPRUNG, H. ‘Globalization of the economy and the nation state’. The World Economy, 22, no. 3: pp. 295-352. May 1999.
VAN DE KAA, D. ‘The second demographic revolution’. Population Bulletin, 42:pp 3-57. 1987.
VAN PARIJS, P. ‘A revolution in Class theory’. Politics and Society, 15, 4: pp453-82. 1987.