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Description
The goal of this module is to familiarise students with theoretical perspectives that explain the emergence and change of modern welfare states. To this end, the module typically outlines the development of European welfare states, and discusses the emergence of different types of welfare states. The module usually covers core theoretical approaches to understand welfare state politics, which may include economic models of inequality and redistribution, party politics and public opinion, the influence of political institutions, and the role of immigration, race, and gender. The class may also include case studies of specific policy fields or social policy reforms, e.g. in the United Kingdom.
By the end of the module, students will have learned a set of theoretical tools that help them understand past, present, and future debates about social policy and the welfare state, and evaluate social policies in a comparative perspective. They will also have gained a sense of the type of methodological approaches used in the literature to answer relevant research questions.
For the 70% coursework assessment component, students are expected to formulate their own empirical research project. This usually involves the use of quantitative data and methods
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 8th April 2024.
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