If you would like to DOWNLOAD PAPERS ON CURRENT PROJECTS, please go to the section "publications", then to "conference papers".
Currently, I work on three main projects.
The first project "From elections to outputs: linking party system change and distributive policy change" deals with the electoral transformations of political parties in advanced post-industrial democracies and investigates the consequences of electoral change on distributive politics. This project links recent research on the transformation of party systems and party competition with current theory and research on institutional change. With Prof. Hanspeter Kriesi (Univ. Zurich), we received funding by the Swiss National Science Foundation for a three year project, starting in April 2010. Dominik Geering works on the project as a research assistant and graduate student. Please go to the project site (right) for more information.
In a second project "Winners and losers in post-industrial societies: the politics of dualization", I work on the dualization of labor markets and welfare states in Western democracies. I want to know to what extent, why and with which political and electoral consequences post-industrial societies become more and more divided in insiders and outsiders. My work in this project is situated in two institutional contexts:
a) The project is linked the the EU Network of Excellence "Reconciling Work and Welfare RECWOWE". From the collaborative research in this project, we will publish the book "The Age of Dualization. The Changing Face of Inequality in Deindustrializing Societies" (2012, OUP). I am a co-editor, together with Profs. Patrick Emmenegger, Bruno Palier and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser. The book shows that dualization of labor markets and societies is not a mere structural trend, but rather the result of political decisions.
b)On dualization, I also work with Hanna Schwander and Thomas Kurer, graduate students at the University of Zurich, on the SNF-project "Who is in and who is out? The political representation of insiders and outsiders in Western Europe" of which I am the main applicant. We started the project in August 2011 and our goal is to develop an indicator of dualization and to analyze the integration of insiders and outsiders in political parties.
In the third project "Modernizing post-industrial care policies: conflict lines and coalitional dynamics", I investigate the coalitional dynamics and politics of family policy reform in continental Europe. This is a follow-up project on my book on pensions and develops this approach for family policy, as a typical "social investment" policy field.
Apart from these three major projects, I pursue a range of collaborative projects on the Future of Democratic Capitalism (with Hanspeter Kriesi, Herbert Kitschelt and Pablo Beramendi), welfare preferences and welfare priorities (a module of questions for the 2011 Swiss election study) and social investment politics (with Bruno Palier).
More generally, my research interests lie at the intersection of comparative politics, comparative public policy and comparative political economy. I have worked extensively on the dynamics of welfare state reform and institutional change over the past few years. Previously, I have also done research on Europeanization and its impact on national politics and policy change.
Completed projects:
Modernization in Hard Times. Post-Industrial Pension Politics in France, Germany and Switzerland (2003-2008)
This project analyzed the conditions for successful pension reforms under the constraints of austerity and post-industrialization. It was my Ph.D. research project, which is out in articles and a book.
The Politics of the New Welfare State (2009-2011)
This international book project on the reform of post-industrial welfare states was directed by Profs. Giuliano Bonoli and David Natali. I contributed a chapter on new and old social policies, which is forthcoming in a book with Oxford University Press.
Switzerland in Europe (2009-2011)
This collective research project traced the development of the Swiss political economy in a EU-perspective. It was led by Christine Trampusch and André Mach. I contributed - together with Giuliano Bonoli - a chapter on Switzerland. It was published in a book by Routledge.
A long goodbye to Bismarck? The Politics of Reform in Bismarckian welfare systems (2006-2008)
This international research project investigated the transformation of continental "Bismarckian" welfare states over the last two decades (directed by Prof. Bruno Palier, Cevipof). I contributed a chapter on Switzerland, which is forthcoming in a book with Amsterdam University Press.
Value Change in Switzerland (2007-2008)
This project investigated the dynamics of value change in Switzerland on the basis of the World Value Survey. Directed by Profs. Hanspeter Kriesi and Simon Hug. I wrote a chapter on the transformation of welfare values in post-industrial labor markets (with Stefanie Walter), which is forthcoming in a book with Lexington.
Governance of supplementary pensions in Europe GOSPE (2007-2009)
For this international research project, I did research on Swiss occupational and private pension governance (together with Giuliano Bonoli). The project was funded by the DFG and directed by Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, MZES, Mannheim. The results are forthcoming with OUP. Gospe-website.
Reshaping decision-making processes under external pressure (2000-2003)
This project analyzed how Europeanization and internationalization affected power relations and decision-making processes in Switzerland and in other small open economies. The project was financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation and directed by Prof. Yannis Papadopoulos.
In this project, I analyze the role of political parties, business associations and trade unions in the reform of family policies in France, Germany and Switzerland.
This project analyzes changes in the socio-structural composition of the electoral constituencies of the major political parties in western Europe and investigates the consequences of these changes on the policy positions of these parties (both in electoral campaigns and in policy-processes) with regard to distributive policies (labor market policy, income tax policy, family policy).
This project investigates to what extent post-industrial labor markets become segmented into two groups: insiders with access to standard work and outsiders who incure stronger risks of unemployment or atypical work. The project analyzes the extent of dualization, the variation of dualization across countries, as well as the social and political consequences of dualization with regard to politics, policies and outcomes. My research on this topic is done in two institutional settings: on the one hand it is part of a new SNF-project that I conduct together with Hanna Schwander and Thomas Kurer "Who is in and who is out? The political representation of insiders and outsiders in Western Europe" (August 2011-2013). On the other hand, it is part of the European Network of Excellence "Reconciling Work and Welfare RECWOWE".