• Demonstrate knowledge of concepts, theories and methods used to study labour market inequality and digitalization.
• Explain contemporary labour market theories and concepts.
• Operationalise key labour market concepts with relevant data and indicators.
• Develop a relevant research question and design drawing upon the topics covered in the course.
• Show analytical proficiency in handling research questions and in supporting theory-driven arguments in the scope of the course with relevant empirical evidence.

Inequality is a central issue in contemporary debates in business and social sciences as exemplified by Piketty’s research on inequality in his path-breaking book – “ Capital in the Twenty-First Century”. International organisations, such as the OECD, the World Bank and the European Union, are increasingly concerned with rising inequality across and within countries.

This course focuses on the role of governments, business and trade unions in creating and mitigating labour market inequalities across countries and sectors of the economy. We examine various inequalities (gender, youth, migrant, low skilled) arising from recent decades of welfare state and labour market reforms and organizational changes within firms.

Digitalisation and big data are new trends in labour market inequalities. We scrutinize the phenomenon among others by way of studying the "gig economy" and its implications on business models, wages and working conditions.

The course also focuses on work-place inequalities, especially from a gendered perspective and with a focus on youth and migrants. We discuss and examine, on the basis of country-examples, what businesses and policy makers can do to tackle such inequalities.

The course will enable the students to conduct independent research within the theme of inequalities arising from different configurations of welfare states and labour markets. Students will get hands-on experience of using relevant data and indicators and relating these to concepts and theories. The skills acquired in this course are useful in preparation for writing a bachelor thesis and transferable to other settings, including work in businesses as well as, governmental and international organizations.

Indicative overview of sessions

1. Course introduction and lecture - Digitalization and labour market inequalities

2. Group exercise – Comparing “more and better jobs” across Europe

3. Lecture – The role of governments in moderating low wages

4. Lecture – The role of collective bargaining in labor market inequalities

5. Group exercise – Collective bargaining and social partner strategies in the cleaning sector

6. Lecture – The "gig economy" - new inequalities through digitalisation of labour?

7. Lecture – Unemployed and big data in public employment services

8. Group exercise - Comparing working-time issues across countries

9. Lecture – Institutional constraints and opportunities for gender equality

10. Group exercise – Determinants of gender (in-)equality with a focus on welfare state and labour markets

11. Lecture – The role of the firm in gender equality

12. Lecture – Flexible workers for flexible jobs? – Businesses, youth and migrants

13. Lecture – Research design

14. Student presentations of research question and approach in view of the exam & wrap-up and evaluation

Readings include state-of-the art academic articles, selected book chapters as well as reports by leading international organisations such as the OECD. Below is a sample of readings used for this course:

Esping-Andersen, G. (2009) Incomplete Revolution: Adapting Welfare States to Women's New Roles, chapters 1 & 2, Polity Press, 19-74.

Healy, J. et al. (2017), Should we take the gig economy seriously? Labour and Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work, 27(3): 232-248.

Grimshaw, D. (2011) “What do we know about low-wage work and low-wage workers? Analysing the definitions, patterns, causes and consequences in international perspective”, Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 28, Geneva: ILO.

Kowalewska, H. (2019), Bringing Women on Board: The Social Policy Implications of Gender Diversity in Top Jobs, Journal of Social Policy, DOI: https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1017/​S0047279419000722

OECD (2017) Collective bargaining in a changing world of work, OECD Employment Outlook 2017, Paris: OECD, ch. 4, p. 125-187

OECD (2017) The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An uphill battle, OECD Employment Outlook, Paris: OECD, Consult chapters 4 & 11.

O’Reilly, J., Leschke, J., Ortlieb, R., Seeleib-Kaiser, M. & Villa, P. (2019) Comparing the problems of youth labor market transitions in Europe: Joblessness, insecurity, institutions, and inequality, ch 1 in: O’Reilly et al. (eds.) Youth Labor in Transition: Inequalities, Mobility and Policies in Europe, Oxford University Press

Rubery, J., Grimshaw, D., Keizer, A. and Johson, M. (2018) Challenges and Contradictions in the ‘Normalising’ of Precarious Work, Work, Employment and Society, Vol. 32(3) 509 –527.

Trygstad, S., Larsen, T. P., Nergaard, K. (2018) Dealing with austerity and migration in the northern European cleaning sector: Social partner strategies to strengthen wage floors, European Journal of Industrial Relations, online first: https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1177/​0959680118790818

Wood, A., Graham, M. & Lehdonvirta, V. (2019) Good Gig, Bad Gig: Autonomy and Algorithmic Control in the Global Gig Economy, Work, Employment and Society, Vol 33(1): 56 –75.