CAPITALISM AND THE DIGITAL AND GREEN TRANSITION

Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: DAVIDE LUCA ARCIDIACONO

Expected Learning Outcomes

Knowledge of the main operating mechanisms of capitalist economic systems

Knowledge of the relevance of the institutional and social dimensions of the economic process

Development of a critical analysis of globalization and its impact on the main economic issues

Development of a critical analysis of the social impact of digital and green transitions

Development of analytical skills in a comparative perspective

Course Structure

Lectures on introductory basic concepts for comparative analysis of socio-economic institutions and policies. hematic seminars with experts and researchers on related topics, Workgroups in class to discuss emerging or related issues, also taking inspiration from international press articles. Students will be also involved in the analysis and discussion of European directives and Reports on related issues, in particular about innovation policies, digital and green transitions.

Required Prerequisites

Basic knowledge in sociology and economics

Attendance of Lessons

Mandatory presence at lectures and facultative participation in group works

Detailed Course Content

The course will examine the main features of the sociological analysis of economic phenomena and of the main differences in the organization of the capitalist system between convergence and diversity through the conceptual and analytical categories of economic sociology and in particular comparative political economy. Moreover, the course aims at providing students with the theoretical and methodological basis for the comparativre analysis of labor policies (models, features, objectives, effects). The perspective of Economic Sociology will be essential in this course that try to deepen some crucial issue at the global lever: varities of Capitalisms, Digital and Ecological Transition, notions, indicators and data sources for labour market analysis , occupational models and welfare regimes in transition.

Textbook Information

•Trigilia C., Economic Sociology, Blackwell, 2002, from page 1 to 35, from page 119 to 134, from page 237 to 255

•Hancke, Debating Varieties of Capitalism, Oxford UP, 2009 (only chapter 1, 2, 8 and 9)

P. De Beer, T. Schils, The labour market triangle. Employment Protection, Unemployment Compensation and Activation in Europe, Edward Elgar, 2009, pp. 1-25 (C. 1) and 198-220 (C. 9

F. Berton, M. Richiardi, S. Sacchi, The political economy of work security and flexibility, The Policy Press, 2012, pp. 1-60 (Cs. 1-3) and 147-153 (C. 8)

José van Dijck, Thomas Poell, Martijn de Waal, The Platform Society, OUP, 2018 (chapter 1 and 2)

Blewitt, J. Understanding sustainable development, Routledge, 2018 ( chapters 1, 2, 3)

Course Planning

	Subjects	Text References
1	Trigilia C., Economic Sociology, Blackwell, 2002
2	Crouch C., Capitalist Diversity and Change, Oxford, 2005
3	Hancke, Debating Varieties of Capitalism, Oxford UP, 2009
4	De Beer, T. Schils, The labour market triangle. Employment Protection, Unemployment Compensation and Activation in Europe, Edward Elgar, 2009,
5	F. Berton, M. Richiardi, S. Sacchi, The political economy of work security and flexibility, The Policy Press, 2012
6	José van Dijck, Thomas Poell, Martijn de Waal, The Platform Society, OUP, 2018 (chapter 1 and 2)
7	Blewitt, J. Understanding sustainable development, Routledge, 2018

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

Oral presentation/debate and a final written essay on a specific topic assigned.

Degree Course in

Global Politics and Euro-Mediterranean Relations