DI CARLO, Donato

Donato Di Carlo received his Ph.D. from the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies during summer 2019.

His Ph.D. analysed the political economy of public sector wage setting in Germany, shedding light on the key role of the state as a political employer in the economy. His ongoing research focuses on the institutional and political determinants of public sector wage policies and their impact on growth models within the context of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The project puts emphasis on the inherent fiscal nature of public sector wage setting and focuses on the pivotal role of public/political employers as sovereign wage setting actors embedded in the institutional matrix of the state. It relies on actor-centered institutionalism to bring together insights from CPE, public finance, fiscal federalism, and industrial relations theory. In light of the limited policy options in the EMU, the project argues that public sector wage policy plays an important and hitherto neglected role as a key instrument of economic governance which underpins country-specific growth models and affects the conduct of coordinated fiscal policy within the EMU. 

Expertise for Teaching and Mentoring of Ph.D. Researchers

Donato has taught undergraduate courses in comparative political economy (CPE) and Mediterranean Capitalism at the University of Cologne and has been teaching assistant at the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE).