2016/2017

2016/2017

DM270

SPS/09 (SOCIOLOGY OF ECONOMICS AND LABOUR)

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

ECONOMICS, POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

PERCORSO COMUNE

1°

2nd semester (27/02/2017 - 27/05/2017)

6

40 lesson hours

The language of instruction is English.

ORAL TEST

ROSTAN MICHELE (titolare) - 6 ECTS

None

The world economy has grown at an unprecedented pace in the last half-a-century pushed and sustained by the diffusion and strengthening of socio-economic forces such as entrepreneurship and innovation, human capital formation and mobility, science and technology. The course aims at offering a sociological view on these “engines of development” looking at relevant institutions, cultural elements and social relations associated with them, providing students with references to different theoretical approaches and empirical evidence.

The course begins describing economic growth in the very long run in order to identify different phases of economic development, their main features and their possible causes. In this way, the distinctive traits of contemporary economic development are pointed out and the stage is set to discuss how and why the aforementioned factors are connected to it.
After the introduction, the course is divided into three parts. The first part aims at introducing students to the study of entrepreneurship. The second is dedicated to human capital. The third part looks at the generation and application of new knowledge through science and technology. For each subject useful concepts and theoretical approaches are presented and the relationship with economic development is discussed looking, for instance, at the creation of new firms, the expansion of education systems, the functioning of the labour market, or the establishment of innovation systems. As far as possible, instruments of inquiry and data, examples and cases are also presented in order to provide students with a small but useful set of tools to study economic development.

The course includes lectures, readings, and discussion.

N. J. Smelser e R. Swedberg (eds), The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Princeton (NJ), Princeton University Press, 2nd edition, 2005.

Other readings will be provided during the course.

Students’ achievements are assessed through a written examination.