The course aims to provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary view on the role of technological change as a transformative factor shaping socioeconomic and political processes and institutions, most notably labour markets, the welfare state and political systems. As regards labour markets, it will focus on the relationship between technological change and employment dynamics in terms of quantity, quality and composition; tasks, skills and workplace organizational features; bargaining power and income distribution. A specific focus on the platform economy is introduced, analyzing the socio-economic implications of new business models based on the extraction and accumulation of (digitized) information. Concerning the policy and politics of the welfare state, seminars will focus on the impact of technological change on social risks and policies to cover such risks, and the prospects for reform of welfare states traditionally based on social insurance and labour market attachment. New opportunities for welfare provision, for instance in health and personal care, are analyzed, alongside the risks for social citizenship that artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision making brings about. The seminars will also debate the sociopolitical consequences of technological change, both as regards preferences citizens have over different policy measures to compensate them, and in terms of political reactions to technology-related insecurity, a phenomenon that adds to and interacts with deindustrialization and globalization. The differential impact of technological change across occupation-based social classes will be analyzed, the political reactions this activates, and the ensuing prospects for democracy and egalitarian capitalism in a knowledge-based society. In order better to grasp the impact of technological change on social and political phenomena, the course will also provide an introduction to the study of comparative political economy, including the varieties of capitalist models and welfare regimes, as well as the analysis of the socioeconomic policy making process. The course has the overall length of 80 hours and is taught in the Spring semester. The students will acquire: • Knowledge of the theories modelling the complex relationships linking technological change, labour markets, social policy and the welfare state, and of empirical evidence on such relationships. • Knowledge of varieties of capitalism, welfare and growth regimes, and the theoretical and analytical tools to understand the differential impact of technological change across different advanced capitalist regimes. • Knowledge of the mechanisms whereby technological change impacts upon political systems, and political preferences within the political community, and of the available evidence on such impact. • The skills and abilities to assess the potential impact of technological change on socioeconomic phenomena, also according to the different features of production regimes. • The skills and abilities to assess the relevance of different social and labour policy measures to address the potential consequences of technological change, or speed up its pace. • The skills and abilities to assess the actual importance of technological change vis-à-vis or interacting with other drivers of change, such as globalization, or the transition to a service economy.

Students will acquire the following learning results: • Learn and understand the most relevant theories linking technological change, labour markets, social policy and the welfare state, and their empirical basis. • Learn and understand the main theories on varieties of capitalism and welfare and skills production regimes, the main classifications of welfare models, as well as the main analytical tools to understand labour market and welfare institutions and policies. • Learn and understand the mechanisms whereby technological change impacts upon political systems, and political preferences within the political community, and the available evidence on such impact. • Acquire the ability to assess the potential impact of technological change on socioeconomic phenomena, also according to the different features of production regimes. • Acquire the ability to assess the relevance of different social and labour policy measures to address the potential consequences of technological change, or speed up its pace.

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The course is structured into three parts, of roughly 25 hours each: the first part deals with the economic impact of technological change; the second part provides an introduction to the study of comparative political economy, focusing in particular on varieties of democratic capitalism and welfare models; the third and last part inquires into the policy and politics consequences of technological change, the related policy measures and responses, and the political support for the various political choices that can be made and are being made.

The course is mainly structured in a seminar mode through a flipped classroom approach and limiting traditional lectures as much as possibile, as follows: • Introductory lectures • Introduction to class topics by the instructor • (Virtual or physical) Classroom discussion based on readings done in advance of each class, and (when appropriate) students’ notes on readings, sent to the instructor and classmates before class • Introduction to topics and readings by students in classroom (be it virtual or physical) • Team and individual work and presentations • Policy lab(s)

Readings to be done before each class (typically, 3/4 papers per week, policy reports or book chapters per class) will be made available for the download from the course webpage on the Portale della didattica at the beginning of the course. A comprehensive syllabus will be made available before the beginning of the course.

Nessuno;

Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula); Elaborato scritto individuale; Elaborato progettuale individuale; Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

Exam: Written test; Individual essay; Individual project; Group project;

... Two different sets of rules, for attending and non attending students, are envisaged. Attending students have to: • attend at least 80% of sessions (21 out of 27); • do (before class) all the readings indicated in the syllabus that will be made available on the Portale della didattica; • when so instructed, send before the meeting and within the deadline short notes to the instructor, comprised of brief summaries of each paper and thought questions to feed the discussion, according to the rules set out in the syllabus and illustrated by the instructor in class. Such notes are made available to all students on the Portale della didattica by the instructor; • actively participate to classroom discussions started by the instructor or (as invited by the instructor) by the students on the day’s readings and, when applicable, on the basis of the notes shared in advance with the class; • actively participate to group discussions, debates and elaborations based on tasks assigned by the instructor in classroom; • when indicated, prepare (individually or in team) presentations; • when indicated, choose (individually or in team) papers for the whole class to discuss and be ready to justify and defend their choice; • present and discuss in class abstracts for each course paper to be written; • participate in policy lab(s) on devising policy measures and responses to assigned (group) tasks; • deliver on time and following the rules set out in the syllabus three short papers. The first paper (1,500-2,000 words, footnotes included, bibliography excluded) must be delivered after the first module on the economic impact of technological change and deal with a related topic, upon the instructor’s approval. The second paper (1,500-2,000 words, footnotes included, bibliography excluded) must be delivered after the second module on comparative political economy and deal with a related topic, upon the instructor’s approval. The third paper (2,000-3,000 words, footnotes included, bibliography excluded) must be delivered after the third module on the political impact of technological change, and deal with a related topic, upon the instructor’s approval. Structure and expected aims of the papers will be indicated in the syllabus and illustrated by the instructor in class. All three short papers must develop a convincing argument, based on empirical evidence and the application of the analytical tools learned in class. Papers should not be only descriptive, but aim to answer a clear research question and test a hypothesis, or make a case. Relevant literature and empirical sources must be properly acknowledged and referenced. The topics of each paper will be agreed upon with the instructor by sending him a paper abstract and discussing it during office hours or by email or video call. Well before the delivery of each paper, one or more class meetings will be devoted to classroom presentation and discussion of each student’s paper abstract. Students who fail to deliver a paper, or turn down its mark, will be considered as non attending students and will take the relevant rules. For attending students, the grade is comprised of the following weighted dimensions: • 30% quality of notes and participation to classroom discussions, including team work and individual or collective presentations, and participation in policy lab(s) • 20% first paper (1,500-2,000 words) • 20% second paper (1,500-2,000 words) • 30% third paper (2,000-3,000 words) Evaluation matrix (x: correspondence; X: high correspondence) Understand, compare and evaluate arguments on economic impact of technological change: Paper one (X) Notes and class discussion (X) Group tasks and policy lab (x) Build arguments linking technological change, labor markets and policy: Paper one (X) Notes and class discussion (x) Group tasks and policy lab (x) Discuss and apply to real-world cases theories on varieties of capitalism and welfare and production regimes: Paper two (X) Notes and class discussion (X) Group tasks and policy lab (X) Understand, frame and discuss labor markets and welfare in the digital economy: Paper two (X) Notes and class discussion (X) Group tasks and policy lab (x) Identify mechanisms of impact of technological change on political systems and political preferences, assess the evidence: Paper three (x) Notes and class discussion (X) Group tasks and policy lab (x) Build arguments and identify scenarios on the potential impact of technological change on social and political phenomena: Paper three (X) Notes and class discussion (x) Group tasks and policy lab (x) Assess relevance of policy measures to address consequences of technological change, design adequate policy responses: Paper three (X) Notes and class discussion (x) Group tasks and policy lab (X) Frame ideas and arguments within appropriate theories, frameworks and language: Paper one (X) Paper two (X) Paper three (X) Notes and class discussion (X) Group tasks and policy lab (X) For non attending students, the assessment envisages a two-hour closed book written test comprised of four open questions to be answered through four short essays. Each essay is marked on a range between 0 and 30, the final mark is their arithmetic mean. Questions span across the whole material (readings, lectures, slides) listed in the syllabus and uploaded on the Portale della didattica, with the exception of “further readings”, and aim to assess the knowledge of theories, and analytical frameworks modelling the complex relationships linking technological change, labour markets, social policy and the welfare state, and political behaviour, as well as the available evidence supporting various possible claims on such relationships. Also, they aim to ascertain the students’ skills and abilities in assessing the relevance of different policy measures to address the potential multifaceted consequences of technological change. Short essays should be about one page long (approximately, between 300 and 500 words) each, and develop an argument based on the relevant literature (which should be acknowledged) listed in the syllabus. The assessment is based on the ability to craft a convincing argument making use of the relevant literature in an analytically sound and rigorous way, as well as using the appropriate scientific language and terminology. Sample test questions are made available on the Portale della didattica.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.