OVERVIEW

The course outlines the main features of italian social policies in a comparative perspective, examining the macro phases that have led to the current configuration of the welfare state in Italy, with particular regard to pension policies, labor policies, health policies and social policies. The evaluation of social policies as learning tool for the stakeholders of the implementation system: fundamental concepts, approaches, method.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The Italian welfare state, in comparison with other European models of welfare state. Policies of social assistance: the concept of assistance, its history, functioning and further development.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with basic concepts on public policy analysis and models for analyzing social policies in the european, italian and local contexts from a historical-comparative perspective; specific knowledge about historical evolution and the current configuration of Italian social policies, with particular regard to pension policies, labor policies, health policies and social-welfare policies; basic skills in social policies evaluation.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures and discussions with students. Activities will be proposed to students.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The following content will be treated

1. Social needs, risks, social policies and welfare states; assistance, insurance and social security; historical welfare state evolution; the welfare state as a socio-political system; welfare models and welfare regimes.

2. Pension policy; evolution of old age protection policies; demographic changes and crisis of the systems of protection of the old age; retirement reforms of the 1990s and 2000s and transition to multi-pillar systems.

3. Labor policy; birth and evolution of the original model of labor policies; socio-economic and industrial transformations and new labor policy models in Italy; regulation and governance of labor policies between european efforts, national framework and local impulses.

4. Health policy; origin of health systems in the post-war period and SSN in Italy; cost increases, crisis in health systems and containment strategies and rationalization of spending; healthcare reforms of the 1990s and 2000s.

5. Social welfare: social assistance and its role in the welfare state; actors of social welfare, subsidiarity and welfare mix; evolution of social assistance in Italy; socio-economic transformations, new needs and new social-welfare policies; reforms of the 1990s and 2000s.

6. Evaluation of social policies: fundamental concepts, approaches, method; design of evalutative research; theory driven evaluation  and participatory evaluation

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ferrera M., 2012, Le politiche sociali, Il Mulino, Bologna

Torrigiani C. 2010, Valutare per apprendere. Capitale sociale e teoria del programma, FrancoAngeli, Milano

Materials available on Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CLAUDIO TORRIGIANI (President)

AGOSTINO MASSA

MAURO PALUMBO

STEFANO POLI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

I semester from September 16th to December 6th 2019 (12 weeks)

Class schedule

SOCIAL POLICY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

For non-attending students the exam is written. The student who has passed the written test, once informed of the vote, will decide whether to accept it, integrate it with a question on a specific thematic area which will be asked in oral mode in the next exam session, or refuse the vote and attend in subsequent exam sessions.

For attending students it is possible both to use the modality foreseen for the not attending, and to carry out the written tests that will be held during the course of the teaching. A test is scheduled for about half of the teaching and one in the last week of the lessons, before the start of the summer session. The final vote will consist of the average of the two votes. Anyone who fails or does not accept the vote of one of the tests may repeat it in a subsequent exam session. For the student who intends to improve the vote of the tests, a brief oral exam is scheduled on a part of the program basing on the results of the tests in one of the subsequent exam sessions.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written exam is a prerequisite to access to oral exam. Through the written exam, the teacher verifies the acquisition by the student of the fundamental concepts covered in the teaching and the ability to relate to each other, the mastery of the knowledge and the technical language and competence in applying what she/he has learned in real problems. The oral exam is a written exam discussion. 

Exam schedule