This event features a presentation by Professor Niccolò Durazzi (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) and Llorenç Soler Buades (EUI Max Weber Fellow).
'Human Capital for the Knowledge Economy'
Speaker: Niccolò Durazzi
How do modern states equip their citizens with the advanced skills required to succeed in an increasingly knowledge-based global economy? This question lies at the heart of Human Capital for the Knowledge Economy (forthcoming February 2026 with Oxford University Press). The book develops a novel theoretical framework and mobilises original empirical evidence to examine how higher education systems have become central arenas for skill formation across advanced capitalist democracies and explains the diverse paths that countries have taken to build high-level skills. The book constructs a new analytical framework that brings together two dimensions: the sectoral specialisation of national economies (advanced manufacturing vs. high-end services) and the institutional structure of higher education systems (public vs. private financing; horizontal vs. vertical differentiation). Through this lens, it identifies four ideal- typical modes of state intervention—allocation, modification, facilitation, and information— which explain the policy approaches underpinning distinct ‘upskill journeys’ across countries. Empirically, the book combines cross-national quantitative data with in-depth case studies of Germany, South Korea, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Each case reveals country-specific trajectories shaped by the interplay between skill demands in knowledge-based labour market segments and the institutional diversity of higher education systems, offering insight into how governments mediate between market demands and educational structures. Human Capital for the Knowledge Economy offers a reminder that the pursuit of quintessentially economic objectives, such as the production of high-level skills, are embedded in political processes – that can be cooperative or conflictual – and are shaped by pre-existing institutions – that can favour change or militate against it.
'Childcare as Social Investment: Who Gains and Under What Conditions'
Speaker: Llorenç Soler-Buades
Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is widely recognised as a central pillar of the social investment state, expected to promote child development, support maternal employment, and reduce social inequality. Yet despite substantial childcare expansion over the past two decades, evidence on which policy designs best support mothers and children —and under what conditions— remains fragmented across social policy, family research, labour economics, and feminist economics. This article presents a systematic review of empirical studies published between 2008 and 2024 examining the effects of ECEC policies on maternal employment and children’s development. Drawing on a PRISMA-based protocol, we synthesise 45 experimental, quasi-experimental, and quantitative studies from European countries. The review shows that wider access to affordable ECEC generally increases mothers’ employment, though benefits are uneven and concentrated among middle- and high-income women. For children, participation in high-quality ECEC improves cognitive outcomes —especially among low-income groups— while socio-emotional effects are more mixed and sensitive to service quality and daily intensity. Overall, the evidence suggests that ECEC can reduce social inequalities when services are high-quality, affordable, and accessible to those most in need. Further, we also point to promising research directions: first, we suggest a potential trade-off where raising maternal employment may, under certain conditions, compromise some aspects of child well-being; and second, we identify a recurring 'class sequence' in which childcare expansion initially benefits middle- and high-income mothers before extending to others, thereby opening the debate on which policy designs can act as equalisers from the very start of implementation.
Please register in order to get a seat and to receive the ZOOM link.