Spring School "Political economy of production and labour"

16 Mar 2026, 10:00 → 20 Mar 2026, 18:30 Europe/Rome

Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala Altana (Firenze)

Spring School "Political economy of production and labour"

The SpringSchool is funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) through the MERITA, the network for talent project*.

The school aims to combine methods and theories from political economy and labour studies for the study of changes in the economy and employment in today's world and will offer tools to understand the governance of value chains, industrial policies, and labour markets, set against the backdrop of world political and economic systems instability and environmental and social sustainability concerns. It will employ an interdisciplinary approach, combining perspectives from international political economy, labour economics, industrial relations, gender studies, political ecology, and the sociology of work.

Organized over five days, each day will address a specific theme, featuring lectures by senior scholars and presentations by experts on case studies. PhD students may have the opportunity to present and discuss their research projects with lecturers and participants.

For any further question or information request please contact the official email address of the School: eclabour.springschool@sns.it 

* MERITA, the network for talent project is the result of a collaboration between five Italian academic institutions: the Scuola Normale Superiore, the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, the Collegio Superiore dell’Università di Bologna, the Scuola Galileiana di Studi Superiori dell’Università di Padova and the Scuola Superiore di Studi Avanzati della Sapienza Università di Roma.

Monday 16 March

10:00 → 11:00 Welcome and presentation of the School and of the participants

11:00 → 13:00 Political economy beyond economics

Speaker: Mario Pianta (Scuola Normale Superiore)

Pianta_Political economy beyond economics.pdf

14:00 → 16:00 Political economy and social blocs

Speaker: Bruno Amable (University of Geneva)

3. Amable_Political economy and social blocs.pdf

16:30 → 17:30 Mechanisms of income inequality

Speaker: Michele Raitano (Sapienza Università di Roma)

4. Raitano_Mechanisms of income inequality.pdf

17:30 → 18:30 Wealth inequality and policies

Speaker: Salvatore Morelli (Università Roma Tre)

5. Morelli_Wealth inequality and policies.pdf

Tuesday 17 March

09:30 → 10:45 Economics from a South perspective (online)

Speaker: Jayati Ghosh (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

11:00 → 13:00 Technology, demand and employment

Speaker: Marco Vivarelli (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

7. Vivarelli_Technology, demand and employment.pdf

13:00 → 14:00 Labour markets and wages

Speaker: Lia Pacelli (Università di Torino)

8. Pacelli_Labour markets and wages.pdf

15:00 → 17:00 Industrial policy, sustainability and politics

Speaker: Antonio Andreoni (School of Oriental and African Studies, London)

9. Andreoni_Industrial policy, sustainability and politics.pdf

17:00 → 17:10 Industrial policy, sustainability and politics

Speaker: Francesco Crespi (Università Roma Tre)

25. Crespi_Industrial policy, sustainability and politics.pdf

17:10 → 17:20 Data and methodologies for the study of political economy and labor: an Introduction

Speaker: Martin Portos (Scuola Normale Superiore)

26. Portos_Data and methodologies for the study of political economy and labor an Introduction.pdf

17:20 → 18:30 Data and methodologies

Speakers: Marco Stamegna (Scuola Normale Superiore), Martin Portos (Scuola Normale Superiore)

10. Bavaro_Data and methodologies.pdf

Wednesday 18 March

09:30 → 11:15 Labour relations in the global economy

Speaker: Vincenzo Maccarrone (Scuola Normale Superiore)

11. Maccarrone_Labour relations in the global economy.pdf

11:30 → 13:30 Labour relations in the global economy

Speaker: Sarosh Kuruvilla (Cornell University)

12. Kuruvilla_Labour relations in the global economy.pdf

15:00 → 16:00 Doing research in the interest of workers: challenges and limitations

Speaker: Maurizio Atzeni (CEIL/CONICET, Argentina and Facultad de Economía y Negocios, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile)

16:00 → 18:15 Frontline research

Speakers: Clelia Li Vigni (Scuola Normale Superiore), Dario Di Conzo (Scuola Normale Superiore e Università di Napoli L'Orientale), Lorenzo Lodi, Nicolò Deiana

13. Deiana_Frontline research.pdf

13. Di Conzo_Frontline research.pdf

13. Li Vigni_Frontline research.pdf

13. Lodi_Frontline research.pdf

Thursday 19 March

10:00 → 12:00 Understanding power resources in labour relations

Speaker: Guglielmo Meardi (Scuola Normale Superiore)

14. Meardi_Understanding power resources in labour relations.pdf

13:15 → 15:30 Presentations by participants, thematic discussion groups, meetings with speakers

WG 1: Production and Labour in Global Value Chains; Geography and Industrial Policy; International
Political Economy
Coordinators: Michele Bavaro (SNS) Dario Di Conzo (SNS, Università di Napoli "L'Orientale".)
Nicolò Canal, TU Delft
Matilde Ciani, Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Iole De Simone, Università di Ferrara
Arsène Perrot, Gran Sasso Science Institute
Lina Sawaqed, World Bank Group

WG 2: Gender & Intersectionality, Social Reproduction in the Labour Market; Racial Capitalism; Ecosocial
issues and approaches
Coordinators: Iraklis Dimitriadis (SNS), Sarrah Kassem (SNS)
Amaleehah Aslam Forrester, SAIS Bologna
Alina Dambrosio Clementelli, Università Statale di Milano
Soeun Jeon, Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University
Giulia Magnano, Università di Padova
Shloka Murarka, Berlin School of Economics
Denise Padula, Università di Roma La Sapienza

WG 3: Comparative Political Economy; Macroeconomic Regimes and Policies; Twin Transitions; Labour
Politics
Coordinators: Gemma Gasseau (SNS), Gabriele Beretta (SNS)
Stephen Gaffney, ULB Bruxelles
Kevin Gawora, SOAS London
Laura Leonelli, Università Statale di Milano
João Monteiro, Universitat Autònoma Barcellona

16:00 → 18:30 The purple economy: gender, care and labour (online)

Speaker: İpek İlkkaracan (Istanbul Technical University)

16.Ilkkaracan_The purple economy_ gender, care and labour.pdf

Friday 20 March

10:00 → 10:30 Labour in the digital age_Digital technologies for worker management and implications for safety and health

Speaker: Armanda Cetrulo (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna)

17. Cetrulo_Digital technologies for worker management and implications for safety and health.pdf

10:30 → 11:00 Labour in the digital age_The labour impact of digital platforms

Speaker: Valeria Cirillo (Università di Bari)

18. Cirillo_The labour impact of digital platforms.pdf

11:00 → 11:30 Labour in the digital age_Artificial Intelligence and Labour: theory, empirics and challenges ahead

Speaker: Dario Guarascio (Sapienza Università di Roma)

19. Guarascio_Artificial Intelligence and Labour_theory, empirics and challenges ahead.pdf

11:30 → 12:00 Labour in the digital age

Speaker: Sarrah Kassem (Scuola Normale Superiore)

20. Kassem_Labour in the digital age.pdf

13:15 → 15:15 Labour as social movements

Speaker: Donatella Della Porta (Scuola Normale Superiore)

21. Della Porta_Labour as social movements.pdf

15:30 → 17:00 The macro level: macroeconomic and labour policies

Speaker: Francesco Saraceno (Sciences Po, Paris)

20marzo_Saraceno.pdf

17:00 → 18:30 IN ITALIAN_Quali politiche del lavoro nella global city di Firenze? Tra overturismo, deindustrializzazione e filiere frammentate

Speakers: Nicola Sciclone (Director of IRPET), Silvia Russo (Segretaria Generale CISL Toscana), Vincenzio Maria Pizzolo (Vicepresidente del Consiglio Comunale di Firenze)