DIAS Guest Lecture: The consequences of digitalization for education systems and the welfare state

Marius R. Busemeyer, Full Professor of Political Science at the University of Konstanz and Speaker of the Excellence Cluster "The Politics of Inequality" and Head of Working Group on Comparative Political Economy



Invited and presented by DIAS Senior Fellow Pieter Vanhuysse



The consequences of digitalization for education systems and the welfare state: What is the citizens’ view?



Digitalization is likely to have a lasting impact on work, welfare, health, education, and the income distribution. It will radically transform not only social risks but also the means by which these are addressed. Much research has been done on the effects of digitalization on labor markets, but its impact on the welfare state and education remains less well understood. In this talk, I want to provide some theoretical perspectives on how and why digitalization affects both welfare state policies as well as the politics underlying it.



I also present major findings from a number of recent studies conducted in my working group on the link between technological change and individual preferences on social and education policies. One central finding is that individuals who perceive themselves to be at high risk due to digitalization and automation primarily demand compensation from the welfare state and are less supportive of increasing investments in education and research, even though the latter is often recommended as public policy response from experts. This finding highlights the complexities of the new politics of tech change in the welfare state, which I will elaborate on in the talk.



About:

Marius R. Busemeyer is a Full Professor of Political Science with a focus on Comparative Political Economy at the University of Konstanz and Speaker of the Excellence Cluster "The Politics of Inequality". His research focuses on comparative political economy and welfare state research, education and social policy, public spending, theories of institutional change and, more recently, public opinion on the welfare state.



He received two major grants from the German Research Foundation (DFG)’s Emmy Noether program and the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant scheme.




His publications include the recently published A loud, but noisy signal? Public opinion and education reform in Western Europe (Cambridge University Press), the book Skills and Inequality (Winner of the 2015 Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research), an edited volume (with Christine Trampusch) on The Political Economy of Collective Skill Formation (Oxford University Press), a number of special issues (as guest editor) of West European Politics, the Journal of European Public Policy and the Socio-Economic Review.



The lecture takes place in the DIAS Auditorium, Fioniavej 34. Everybody is welcome and no registration is needed.