University of Copenhagen

This course focuses on economic policy and the welfare state in Denmark through international comparison and examples from other developed countries. It covers classic welfare state topics as well as more recent themes and challenges to modern welfare states, focusing especially on the expenditure side of government. The course has an emphasis on recent empirical research on policy issues, and a focus on how to take theory to the data, critically evaluate the validity of empirical designs, and account for policy implications of research results. Each topic looks at economic facts and status quo policies in Denmark and elsewhere, works with the theoretical framework and economic reasoning behind these policies, discusses empirical evidence and evaluations of “what works” in terms of policy in that area, and covers views from the public debate. The course provides an academic foundation for thinking about different policy questions; an understanding of policy in an applied context and as part of the political system and the public debate; an overview of contemporary economic issues related to the welfare state and public sector in Denmark and other developed countries; and an opportunity for students to think as economists about these issues and account for potential challenges, trade-offs, and solutions in an academic way.

This course focuses on the task of sociology to provide interpretations of the current situation and diagnoses of the times. The first part of the course defines the general meaning of diagnosis of the times and the role this kind of analysis plays in sociology. The second part identifies and distinguishes between various conceptions of social transformation and how modern societies have changed over time, with a study of the most recent structural transformations. The last part of the course focuses on the normative use of social diagnosis to conceive that not only persons but also societies can be understood as sick. The course accounts for how this kind of analysis can be used to evaluate and criticize social change and provides an opportunity to plan and perform research and carry out critical investigations of structural transformations of modern societies and institutions.