Marcello Natili
Biographic Data
| ID | 284353 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Marcello Natili |
| GIVEN NAMES | Marcello |
| FAMILY NAME | Natili |
| SIGNATURE | NATILI M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Milan |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1271-8370 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 123 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Boosting Fiscal–Occupational Welfare in Italy
Fiscal–occupational welfare is becoming an increasingly important feature of social protection systems and state–business relations in Europe, reflecting a broader trend towards outsourcing public functions to private actors. In Italy, the 2016 and 2017 Stability Laws significantly expanded its scope and relevance. This article examines the political dynamics that facilitate the adoption of these distinctive forms of social policy and shape their…
Bonding through crises
The EU relies on bonds of loyalty that create a political community among member states and citizens. The relevance of the social dimension for both polity contestation and polity maintenance has, however, been neglected. We fill this gap by evaluating to what extent the EU’s (social) policy responses to crises contributed to contain Euroscepticism – or failed to do so. We examine how EU polity challengers (radical parties both on the right and t…
What kind of energy transition? Public opinion trade-offs between economic growth, ecological sustainability, and equity
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the ensuing increased concerns over energy prices, have created new controversies in the European political discourse over how to pursue an energy transition that can reconcile economic, environmental, and social objectives. In this context, this paper examines public opinion priorities and potential trade-offs across social groups regarding the need to combat climate change, ensure energy supply, and protect …
Understanding public support for EU polity building in hard times
Neoliberal reforms, Great Recession and political backlash
When observed in comparative perspective, until the early-1990s the Italian welfare state was clearly an outlier, characterized by an unbalanced allocation of resources among welfare sectors (so-called functional distortion) and towards social groups (distributive distortion). Since then, however, profound transformations have affected both the institutional architecture and the distributive profile of the Italian welfare state. Through an in-dep…
Buffering national welfare states in hard times
The EU has traditionally influenced the social and employment policies of Member States through regulation, leaving redistribution to national welfare states. The latter have, however, been gradually weakened by global socioeconomic change and by the expansion of EU market integration. A series of crises over the last 15 years made a bad situation worse: the longue durée erosion of the capacity of European welfare states has morphed into acute so…
Back from the Cold? Progressive Politics and Social Policy Paradigms in Southern Europe after the Great Recession
This article examines the programmatic evolution of social democratic parties in Italy, Portugal, and Spain, three countries in which the center-left has governed in the last decade. To do so, the article develops an analytical framework for mapping social and labor market policy reforms and assessing their liberalizing, regularizing, or recalibrating character. In explanatory terms, the article studies the coalitional politics behind social demo…
Money Makes the World Go Round
The Next Generation EU (NGEU) package transformed European economic governance. This article examines the implications of this change in terms of EU polity formation and in terms of social policy content. It asks whether the temporary availability of large funds increases the leverage of the Commission in the European Semester and how this innovation affects sensitive policies. In the tradition of Stein Rokkan, the article advances a conception o…
The Politics of the European Minimum Wage
Until recently, the idea of a European minimum wage (EMW) policy had never taken concrete shape, due to the heterogeneity of national wage‐setting and collective bargaining institutions, uncertain EU competence on the matter, and widespread scepticism amongst political actors. In 2022, however, the EU adopted a directive on adequate minimum wages. How did this make it to the EU agenda, despite the many political, territorial and institutional ten…
Disentangling (new) labour market divides
In post-industrial and globalized economies, socio-economic risks have become ubiquitous for workers. Two segments of the labour force seem particularly exposed: namely, outsiders (atypical workers and unemployed individuals) and globalization losers (unskilled workers in offshorable employment sectors), with relevant consequences for party competition in Europe. The coexistence of these two segments of vulnerable workers has brought conceptual a…
Invisible social Europe? Linking citizens’ awareness of European cohesion funds, individual power resources, and support for the EU
In the twentieth century national social policies stabilized the European state systems, favouring domestic concordance and citizens' support to the nation-building process. Welfare institutions have historically served this key political function also in federal systems, where social citizenship has been used as a tool to foster unity. In contrast, even though the EU devotes a consistent part of its (however limited) budget to social cohesion an…
Widening double dualisation? Labour market inequalities and national social policy responses in Western Europe during the first wave of the Covid ‐19 pandemic
Europe is witnessing a ‘double dualisation’ process, whereby inequalities have increased both between labour market insiders and outsiders, and between core and peripheral countries. We test the double dualisation hypothesis in the context of the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Did the COVID crisis exacerbate income inequalities between insiders and outsiders? Did cross‐country territorial divides also increase? Did national governments' eme…
Introduction
A different logic of polity building? The Russian invasion of Ukraine and EU citizens’ demand for social security
The present study considers whether the Russian invasion of Ukraine constitutes an opportunity for EU policy centralisation and polity-building in non-military domains, according to a social security logic. It argues that the war and growing concerns about energy security and prices have presented EU policymakers with a transboundary policy puzzle on how to ensure autonomy in energy supply, fight climate change and protect household disposable in…
Expanding Welfare State Borders
This article investigates the drivers of trade union choices in the social policy arena in the age of austerity. Against the background of a political economy literature mostly emphasising trade union support for their stronger constituency - i.e. the 'insiders' - the article shows the existence of mechanisms potentially inducing trade unions to broaden their demands. Empirically, the study rests on an in-depth comparative analysis of the politic…
Exclusionary welfarism
This article introduces a novel analytical framework to compare the changing positions of five populist right-wing parties in the field of welfare policies. Results outline that a novel programmatic approach on the socio economic dimension materialised, which clearly departs from traditional right wing ideologies. We call it 'exclusionary welfarism', characterised by (i) high salience of welfare issues, (ii) strong support for welfare state expan…
Explaining Italian “exceptionalism” and its end
Traditionally at the margins of the political debate, minimum income protection has recently become a key issue in Italian politics. After decades of social and political “neglect” letting Italy the only European country (with Greece) still lacking an anti‐poverty minimum income safety net in the 2010s, finally a national programme called Inclusion Income was introduced in 2018, then replaced by a more robustly financed scheme, the Citizenship In…
The Politics of Minimum Income
Children against parents? The politics of intergenerational recalibration in Southern Europe
Traditionally, Southern European countries displayed remarkably elderly biased social policy arrangements. This article introduces the notion of intergenerational recalibration to capture reforms aimed at rebalancing the generational profile of Southern European welfare states via the expansion of family policy and social assistance schemes—both monetary benefits and care services—and retrenchment in the field of pensions. Then, it elaborates the…
Worlds of last-resort safety nets? A proposed typology of minimum income schemes in Europe
Over the past twenty years, minimum income schemes (MIS) have undergone major transformations in their functions and role. From mainly residual instruments that aimed to guarantee minimum income support and to prevent extreme marginality, in most countries they now have an ambiguous function of providing income support and favouring social and labour market inclusion. Against this background, this article provides an analytical grid that allows d…
The right(s) and minimum income in hard times
The paper addresses a topic still largely under-researched in comparative welfare state literature: the role of right parties in the reform of last resort safety nets. More precisely, the study investigates minimum income schemes’ reforms promoted during the Great Recession (2008–2013) by centre-right governments in three countries belonging to the European periphery: Italy, Portugal and Latvia. Despite common political orientation and increased …
A federalist’s dilemma
In multi-tiered states, subnational policymakers face a dilemma: on one hand, they must ensure the social legitimacy of their subnational unit by owning relevant policies including their potentially negative consequences; on the other, they have to manage their budget responsibly, which limits the scope of policy development. We study this dilemma in relation to social policies, by examining how the constituent units and municipalities in Germany…
Explaining different trajectories of minimum income schemes
The absence of a minimum income scheme was a key feature of the Southern European Model. In the past 20 years, countries in this cluster have witnessed major changes in this policy field. In particular, in Spain, regional safety nets have been introduced which cover the entire country and consolidated over time. Also in Italy, regional programmes were introduced, but they do not diffuse throughout the country and were often subsequently discontin…
Active inclusion as an organisational challenge
Active inclusion aims at the reduction of poverty by strengthening the agency of excluded persons by the provision of a minimum income, activation and social services. The contribution to poverty alleviation is determined by expenditure levels and the organisation of these three policy fields. This can be shown by three examples: The comprehensive Swedish regime is characterised by high expenditures; the redistributive German regime is characteri…
Worlds of last-resort safety nets? A proposed typology of minimum income schemes in Europe
Over the past twenty years, minimum income schemes (MIS) have undergone major transformations in their functions and role. From mainly residual instruments that aimed to guarantee minimum income support and to prevent extreme marginality, in most countries they now have an ambiguous function of providing income support and favouring social and labour market inclusion. Against this background, this article provides an analytical grid that allows d…
Money Makes the World Go Round
The Next Generation EU (NGEU) package transformed European economic governance. This article examines the implications of this change in terms of EU polity formation and in terms of social policy content. It asks whether the temporary availability of large funds increases the leverage of the Commission in the European Semester and how this innovation affects sensitive policies. In the tradition of Stein Rokkan, the article advances a conception o…
Explaining different trajectories of minimum income schemes
The absence of a minimum income scheme was a key feature of the Southern European Model. In the past 20 years, countries in this cluster have witnessed major changes in this policy field. In particular, in Spain, regional safety nets have been introduced which cover the entire country and consolidated over time. Also in Italy, regional programmes were introduced, but they do not diffuse throughout the country and were often subsequently discontin…
A different logic of polity building? The Russian invasion of Ukraine and EU citizens’ demand for social security
The present study considers whether the Russian invasion of Ukraine constitutes an opportunity for EU policy centralisation and polity-building in non-military domains, according to a social security logic. It argues that the war and growing concerns about energy security and prices have presented EU policymakers with a transboundary policy puzzle on how to ensure autonomy in energy supply, fight climate change and protect household disposable in…
Exclusionary welfarism
This article introduces a novel analytical framework to compare the changing positions of five populist right-wing parties in the field of welfare policies. Results outline that a novel programmatic approach on the socio economic dimension materialised, which clearly departs from traditional right wing ideologies. We call it 'exclusionary welfarism', characterised by (i) high salience of welfare issues, (ii) strong support for welfare state expan…
A federalist’s dilemma
In multi-tiered states, subnational policymakers face a dilemma: on one hand, they must ensure the social legitimacy of their subnational unit by owning relevant policies including their potentially negative consequences; on the other, they have to manage their budget responsibly, which limits the scope of policy development. We study this dilemma in relation to social policies, by examining how the constituent units and municipalities in Germany…
Explaining Italian “exceptionalism” and its end
Traditionally at the margins of the political debate, minimum income protection has recently become a key issue in Italian politics. After decades of social and political “neglect” letting Italy the only European country (with Greece) still lacking an anti‐poverty minimum income safety net in the 2010s, finally a national programme called Inclusion Income was introduced in 2018, then replaced by a more robustly financed scheme, the Citizenship In…
Back from the Cold? Progressive Politics and Social Policy Paradigms in Southern Europe after the Great Recession
This article examines the programmatic evolution of social democratic parties in Italy, Portugal, and Spain, three countries in which the center-left has governed in the last decade. To do so, the article develops an analytical framework for mapping social and labor market policy reforms and assessing their liberalizing, regularizing, or recalibrating character. In explanatory terms, the article studies the coalitional politics behind social demo…
The Politics of the European Minimum Wage
Until recently, the idea of a European minimum wage (EMW) policy had never taken concrete shape, due to the heterogeneity of national wage‐setting and collective bargaining institutions, uncertain EU competence on the matter, and widespread scepticism amongst political actors. In 2022, however, the EU adopted a directive on adequate minimum wages. How did this make it to the EU agenda, despite the many political, territorial and institutional ten…
Introduction
The right(s) and minimum income in hard times
The paper addresses a topic still largely under-researched in comparative welfare state literature: the role of right parties in the reform of last resort safety nets. More precisely, the study investigates minimum income schemes’ reforms promoted during the Great Recession (2008–2013) by centre-right governments in three countries belonging to the European periphery: Italy, Portugal and Latvia. Despite common political orientation and increased …
Active inclusion as an organisational challenge
Active inclusion aims at the reduction of poverty by strengthening the agency of excluded persons by the provision of a minimum income, activation and social services. The contribution to poverty alleviation is determined by expenditure levels and the organisation of these three policy fields. This can be shown by three examples: The comprehensive Swedish regime is characterised by high expenditures; the redistributive German regime is characteri…
Buffering national welfare states in hard times
The EU has traditionally influenced the social and employment policies of Member States through regulation, leaving redistribution to national welfare states. The latter have, however, been gradually weakened by global socioeconomic change and by the expansion of EU market integration. A series of crises over the last 15 years made a bad situation worse: the longue durée erosion of the capacity of European welfare states has morphed into acute so…
Expanding Welfare State Borders
This article investigates the drivers of trade union choices in the social policy arena in the age of austerity. Against the background of a political economy literature mostly emphasising trade union support for their stronger constituency - i.e. the 'insiders' - the article shows the existence of mechanisms potentially inducing trade unions to broaden their demands. Empirically, the study rests on an in-depth comparative analysis of the politic…
Children against parents? The politics of intergenerational recalibration in Southern Europe
Traditionally, Southern European countries displayed remarkably elderly biased social policy arrangements. This article introduces the notion of intergenerational recalibration to capture reforms aimed at rebalancing the generational profile of Southern European welfare states via the expansion of family policy and social assistance schemes—both monetary benefits and care services—and retrenchment in the field of pensions. Then, it elaborates the…
Understanding public support for EU polity building in hard times
Invisible social Europe? Linking citizens’ awareness of European cohesion funds, individual power resources, and support for the EU
In the twentieth century national social policies stabilized the European state systems, favouring domestic concordance and citizens' support to the nation-building process. Welfare institutions have historically served this key political function also in federal systems, where social citizenship has been used as a tool to foster unity. In contrast, even though the EU devotes a consistent part of its (however limited) budget to social cohesion an…
Widening double dualisation? Labour market inequalities and national social policy responses in Western Europe during the first wave of the Covid ‐19 pandemic
Europe is witnessing a ‘double dualisation’ process, whereby inequalities have increased both between labour market insiders and outsiders, and between core and peripheral countries. We test the double dualisation hypothesis in the context of the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Did the COVID crisis exacerbate income inequalities between insiders and outsiders? Did cross‐country territorial divides also increase? Did national governments' eme…
Active inclusion as an organisational challenge
Active inclusion aims at the reduction of poverty by strengthening the agency of excluded persons by the provision of a minimum income, activation and social services. The contribution to poverty alleviation is determined by expenditure levels and the organisation of these three policy fields. This can be shown by three examples: The comprehensive Swedish regime is characterised by high expenditures; the redistributive German regime is characteri…
Explaining different trajectories of minimum income schemes
The absence of a minimum income scheme was a key feature of the Southern European Model. In the past 20 years, countries in this cluster have witnessed major changes in this policy field. In particular, in Spain, regional safety nets have been introduced which cover the entire country and consolidated over time. Also in Italy, regional programmes were introduced, but they do not diffuse throughout the country and were often subsequently discontin…
The right(s) and minimum income in hard times
The paper addresses a topic still largely under-researched in comparative welfare state literature: the role of right parties in the reform of last resort safety nets. More precisely, the study investigates minimum income schemes’ reforms promoted during the Great Recession (2008–2013) by centre-right governments in three countries belonging to the European periphery: Italy, Portugal and Latvia. Despite common political orientation and increased …
A federalist’s dilemma
In multi-tiered states, subnational policymakers face a dilemma: on one hand, they must ensure the social legitimacy of their subnational unit by owning relevant policies including their potentially negative consequences; on the other, they have to manage their budget responsibly, which limits the scope of policy development. We study this dilemma in relation to social policies, by examining how the constituent units and municipalities in Germany…
The Politics of Minimum Income
Children against parents? The politics of intergenerational recalibration in Southern Europe
Traditionally, Southern European countries displayed remarkably elderly biased social policy arrangements. This article introduces the notion of intergenerational recalibration to capture reforms aimed at rebalancing the generational profile of Southern European welfare states via the expansion of family policy and social assistance schemes—both monetary benefits and care services—and retrenchment in the field of pensions. Then, it elaborates the…
Worlds of last-resort safety nets? A proposed typology of minimum income schemes in Europe
Over the past twenty years, minimum income schemes (MIS) have undergone major transformations in their functions and role. From mainly residual instruments that aimed to guarantee minimum income support and to prevent extreme marginality, in most countries they now have an ambiguous function of providing income support and favouring social and labour market inclusion. Against this background, this article provides an analytical grid that allows d…
Explaining Italian “exceptionalism” and its end
Traditionally at the margins of the political debate, minimum income protection has recently become a key issue in Italian politics. After decades of social and political “neglect” letting Italy the only European country (with Greece) still lacking an anti‐poverty minimum income safety net in the 2010s, finally a national programme called Inclusion Income was introduced in 2018, then replaced by a more robustly financed scheme, the Citizenship In…
Exclusionary welfarism
This article introduces a novel analytical framework to compare the changing positions of five populist right-wing parties in the field of welfare policies. Results outline that a novel programmatic approach on the socio economic dimension materialised, which clearly departs from traditional right wing ideologies. We call it 'exclusionary welfarism', characterised by (i) high salience of welfare issues, (ii) strong support for welfare state expan…
Disentangling (new) labour market divides
In post-industrial and globalized economies, socio-economic risks have become ubiquitous for workers. Two segments of the labour force seem particularly exposed: namely, outsiders (atypical workers and unemployed individuals) and globalization losers (unskilled workers in offshorable employment sectors), with relevant consequences for party competition in Europe. The coexistence of these two segments of vulnerable workers has brought conceptual a…
Invisible social Europe? Linking citizens’ awareness of European cohesion funds, individual power resources, and support for the EU
In the twentieth century national social policies stabilized the European state systems, favouring domestic concordance and citizens' support to the nation-building process. Welfare institutions have historically served this key political function also in federal systems, where social citizenship has been used as a tool to foster unity. In contrast, even though the EU devotes a consistent part of its (however limited) budget to social cohesion an…
Widening double dualisation? Labour market inequalities and national social policy responses in Western Europe during the first wave of the Covid ‐19 pandemic
Europe is witnessing a ‘double dualisation’ process, whereby inequalities have increased both between labour market insiders and outsiders, and between core and peripheral countries. We test the double dualisation hypothesis in the context of the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Did the COVID crisis exacerbate income inequalities between insiders and outsiders? Did cross‐country territorial divides also increase? Did national governments' eme…
Introduction
A different logic of polity building? The Russian invasion of Ukraine and EU citizens’ demand for social security
The present study considers whether the Russian invasion of Ukraine constitutes an opportunity for EU policy centralisation and polity-building in non-military domains, according to a social security logic. It argues that the war and growing concerns about energy security and prices have presented EU policymakers with a transboundary policy puzzle on how to ensure autonomy in energy supply, fight climate change and protect household disposable in…
Expanding Welfare State Borders
This article investigates the drivers of trade union choices in the social policy arena in the age of austerity. Against the background of a political economy literature mostly emphasising trade union support for their stronger constituency - i.e. the 'insiders' - the article shows the existence of mechanisms potentially inducing trade unions to broaden their demands. Empirically, the study rests on an in-depth comparative analysis of the politic…
Buffering national welfare states in hard times
The EU has traditionally influenced the social and employment policies of Member States through regulation, leaving redistribution to national welfare states. The latter have, however, been gradually weakened by global socioeconomic change and by the expansion of EU market integration. A series of crises over the last 15 years made a bad situation worse: the longue durée erosion of the capacity of European welfare states has morphed into acute so…
Back from the Cold? Progressive Politics and Social Policy Paradigms in Southern Europe after the Great Recession
This article examines the programmatic evolution of social democratic parties in Italy, Portugal, and Spain, three countries in which the center-left has governed in the last decade. To do so, the article develops an analytical framework for mapping social and labor market policy reforms and assessing their liberalizing, regularizing, or recalibrating character. In explanatory terms, the article studies the coalitional politics behind social demo…
Money Makes the World Go Round
The Next Generation EU (NGEU) package transformed European economic governance. This article examines the implications of this change in terms of EU polity formation and in terms of social policy content. It asks whether the temporary availability of large funds increases the leverage of the Commission in the European Semester and how this innovation affects sensitive policies. In the tradition of Stein Rokkan, the article advances a conception o…
The Politics of the European Minimum Wage
Until recently, the idea of a European minimum wage (EMW) policy had never taken concrete shape, due to the heterogeneity of national wage‐setting and collective bargaining institutions, uncertain EU competence on the matter, and widespread scepticism amongst political actors. In 2022, however, the EU adopted a directive on adequate minimum wages. How did this make it to the EU agenda, despite the many political, territorial and institutional ten…
Understanding public support for EU polity building in hard times
Neoliberal reforms, Great Recession and political backlash
When observed in comparative perspective, until the early-1990s the Italian welfare state was clearly an outlier, characterized by an unbalanced allocation of resources among welfare sectors (so-called functional distortion) and towards social groups (distributive distortion). Since then, however, profound transformations have affected both the institutional architecture and the distributive profile of the Italian welfare state. Through an in-dep…
Boosting Fiscal–Occupational Welfare in Italy
Fiscal–occupational welfare is becoming an increasingly important feature of social protection systems and state–business relations in Europe, reflecting a broader trend towards outsourcing public functions to private actors. In Italy, the 2016 and 2017 Stability Laws significantly expanded its scope and relevance. This article examines the political dynamics that facilitate the adoption of these distinctive forms of social policy and shape their…
Bonding through crises
The EU relies on bonds of loyalty that create a political community among member states and citizens. The relevance of the social dimension for both polity contestation and polity maintenance has, however, been neglected. We fill this gap by evaluating to what extent the EU’s (social) policy responses to crises contributed to contain Euroscepticism – or failed to do so. We examine how EU polity challengers (radical parties both on the right and t…
What kind of energy transition? Public opinion trade-offs between economic growth, ecological sustainability, and equity
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the ensuing increased concerns over energy prices, have created new controversies in the European political discourse over how to pursue an energy transition that can reconcile economic, environmental, and social objectives. In this context, this paper examines public opinion priorities and potential trade-offs across social groups regarding the need to combat climate change, ensure energy supply, and protect …
Economics (21 works) · Politics (21 works) · Political science (20 works) · Social Policy and Reform Studies (20 works) · Law (13 works) · Political economy (13 works) · Law (12 works) · European Union Policy and Governance (8 works) · Market economy (8 works) · Sociology (8 works)