Stefano Ronchi
Biographic Data
| ID | 349987 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stefano Ronchi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stefano |
| FAMILY NAME | Ronchi |
| SIGNATURE | RONCHI S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Milan |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6821-7148 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 156 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Poor Work, Poor Welfare? Occupational Welfare in Cooperative Enterprises: A Case Study From I taly
In times of fast‐changing social needs and limited public resources, private welfare provision plays an increasingly prominent role in the welfare mix. This article explores two dimensions of this trend, which have often been examined separately: occupational welfare (OW) and employment in the social economy. We investigate their interplay through a case study of cooperative enterprises in Italy. While cooperatives are central actors in Italy's s…
Buffering national welfare states in hard times: The politics of EU capacity‐building in the social policy domain
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…
The middle-class base of European integration? New class divides and attitudes towards market integration in ten EU countries
Highly educated 'new' middle classes have been identified as a fundamental constituency that, by supporting technological innovation and liberalisation, bolsters the stability of advanced capitalism. By contrast, less educated production workers are usually described as opponents of such policies. This article investigates the extent to which these class divides translate into different positions on support for EU integration, a key process in th…
The Politics of the European Minimum Wage: Overcoming Ideological, Territorial and Institutional Conflicts in the EU Multi‐level Arena
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…
European Welfare States’ Detour(s) to Social Investment
Since the end of the twentieth century, European welfare states have been reconfiguring the basic policy mixes upon which they were built after 1945. In the process, the overarching social policy objective has shifted from fighting unemployment in the 1990s to promoting employment participation through social investment. This chapter introduces the concept of social investment as a key to understanding recent welfare state change in Europe, in an…
Closer in hard times? The drivers of European solidarity in ‘normal’ and ‘crisis’ times
This article examines the trends and differences in predictors of public support for European Union (EU) fiscal solidarity using two individual surveys conducted in 2019 and 2020, before and during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, in six Western European countries. We focus on individual self-interest and European/national identification as the two major determinants of public preference formation. Empirical analyses show that, while the …
EU resilience in times of Covid? Polity maintenance, public support, and solidarity
This introduction presents the theoretical framework, aims, and summary of this special issue. We want to explain the European Union’s (EU) response to the COVID crisis from a ‘polity perspective’ (Kriesi 2021; Ferrera 2005). We conceptualize the EU as a compound ‘experimental’ polity which develops along three dimensions: binding (capacity building and sovereignty), bounding (bordering), and bonding (solidarity and loyalty). We structure the con…
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…
Boosting work through welfare? Individual-level employment outcomes of social investment across European welfare states through the Great Recession
Given the heterogeneity of European welfare states, governments’ efforts in ‘social investment’ reform may reap different outcomes in different national contexts. Through multi-level modelling based on longitudinal microdata from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (2004–2013) and on country-level policy indicators, this article assesses: whether citizens of countries that put higher budgetary efforts into social investment have bet…
Social investment as a conceptual framework for analysing well-being returns and reforms in 21st century welfare states
Welfare provision is often conceived through the lens of decommodification and analysed in (re)distributive terms. This article argues that a distributive approach does not sufficiently capture the complexity of 21st century welfare state dynamics. It proposes re-conceptualizing provision as a mix of three policy functions: raising and maintaining human capital stock; easing the flow of gendered life-course and labour-market transitions; guarante…
Recent Developments: Social Investment Reform in the Twenty-First Century
The trajectory of developed welfare states in the early twenty-first century is perhaps best understood through the idea of ‘social investment’. The first section of the chapter defines social investment as a sui generis welfare paradigm, distinct from both the Keynesian–Beveridgean welfare state and its neoliberal critique, and analytically rooted in the three interrelated policy functions of lifelong human capital stocks, work–life-balanced flo…
Walking the road together? EU polity maintenance during the Covid-19 crisis
This article investigates the ‘conflict parabola’ of the negotiations between EU member states during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis reopened the foundational controversy over cross-national solidarity under economic adversities. After a peak of conflict in March–April 2020, the political climate gradually shifted from antagonism to appeasement, creating the conditions necessary for the adoption of the Next Generation EU plan. Building on the …
On the role of regional hubs in the environmental sustainability of humanitarian supply chains
In spite of strong commitment of humanitarian and development communities with the protection of our planet, expressed through the Sustainable Development Goals in the Agenda 2030, environmental sustainability still remains an overlooked aspect in humanitarian supply chains (HSCs). Using a collaborative mixed‐methods research with an international humanitarian organization, this paper sheds light on the causes of unsustainable operations in HSCs …
The Puzzle of Expansionary Welfare Reforms under Harsh Austerity: Explaining the Italian Case
Published online: 01 Aug 2019
Organisational choices in public procurement: What Can Public Management Learn From the Private Sector
In the public context, the efficient and effective management of procurement activities has a crucial impact on the achievement of operational and broader government objectives. In particular, the potential contribution of procurement within local governments has been broadly recognized, and organisational procurement choices represent a strategic aspect that must be managed to contribute to these objectives. Through the analysis of data on 371 I…
Closer to the state, closer to the polls? The different impact of corruption on turnout among public employees and other citizens
Research on the link between turnout and corruption has produced inconclusive evidence: while some studies find corruption to be positively related to turnout, others report a negative relationship. This article argues that the relevant question is not whether corruption has a positive or negative effect on turnout, but for whom. We hypothesize that the effect of corruption on the likelihood to vote depends on individuals’ employment sector. Publ…
Which Roads (if any) to Social Investment? The Recalibration of EU Welfare States at the Crisis Crossroads (2000-2014)
The social investment approach has been advocated as a blueprint for recasting European welfare states since the years of the Lisbon Strategy. After the Euro crisis squeezed the fiscal space available for welfare recalibration, the question has been raised as to whether social investment could withstand the economic turmoil. Relying on a new welfare expenditure dataset constructed from various Eurostat sources, this article looks at the budgetary…
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Procurement Performance Management Systems in Local Governments
Increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and compliance of public procurement (PP) has become an ongoing concern for governments. Public administrations at different levels are realising that – in order for PP to fulfil its mission – appropriate control and diagnostic systems must be put in place. This study aims to investigate the architecture of PP performance measurement systems (PP-PMSs) in local governments, drawing on four case studies fro…
Walking the road together? EU polity maintenance during the Covid-19 crisis
This article investigates the ‘conflict parabola’ of the negotiations between EU member states during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis reopened the foundational controversy over cross-national solidarity under economic adversities. After a peak of conflict in March–April 2020, the political climate gradually shifted from antagonism to appeasement, creating the conditions necessary for the adoption of the Next Generation EU plan. Building on the …
Social investment as a conceptual framework for analysing well-being returns and reforms in 21st century welfare states
Welfare provision is often conceived through the lens of decommodification and analysed in (re)distributive terms. This article argues that a distributive approach does not sufficiently capture the complexity of 21st century welfare state dynamics. It proposes re-conceptualizing provision as a mix of three policy functions: raising and maintaining human capital stock; easing the flow of gendered life-course and labour-market transitions; guarante…
Which Roads (if any) to Social Investment? The Recalibration of EU Welfare States at the Crisis Crossroads (2000-2014)
The social investment approach has been advocated as a blueprint for recasting European welfare states since the years of the Lisbon Strategy. After the Euro crisis squeezed the fiscal space available for welfare recalibration, the question has been raised as to whether social investment could withstand the economic turmoil. Relying on a new welfare expenditure dataset constructed from various Eurostat sources, this article looks at the budgetary…
The Puzzle of Expansionary Welfare Reforms under Harsh Austerity: Explaining the Italian Case
Published online: 01 Aug 2019
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Procurement Performance Management Systems in Local Governments
Increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and compliance of public procurement (PP) has become an ongoing concern for governments. Public administrations at different levels are realising that – in order for PP to fulfil its mission – appropriate control and diagnostic systems must be put in place. This study aims to investigate the architecture of PP performance measurement systems (PP-PMSs) in local governments, drawing on four case studies fro…
Closer in hard times? The drivers of European solidarity in ‘normal’ and ‘crisis’ times
This article examines the trends and differences in predictors of public support for European Union (EU) fiscal solidarity using two individual surveys conducted in 2019 and 2020, before and during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, in six Western European countries. We focus on individual self-interest and European/national identification as the two major determinants of public preference formation. Empirical analyses show that, while the …
The Politics of the European Minimum Wage: Overcoming Ideological, Territorial and Institutional Conflicts in the EU Multi‐level Arena
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…
Buffering national welfare states in hard times: The politics of EU capacity‐building in the social policy domain
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…
EU resilience in times of Covid? Polity maintenance, public support, and solidarity
This introduction presents the theoretical framework, aims, and summary of this special issue. We want to explain the European Union’s (EU) response to the COVID crisis from a ‘polity perspective’ (Kriesi 2021; Ferrera 2005). We conceptualize the EU as a compound ‘experimental’ polity which develops along three dimensions: binding (capacity building and sovereignty), bounding (bordering), and bonding (solidarity and loyalty). We structure the con…
On the role of regional hubs in the environmental sustainability of humanitarian supply chains
In spite of strong commitment of humanitarian and development communities with the protection of our planet, expressed through the Sustainable Development Goals in the Agenda 2030, environmental sustainability still remains an overlooked aspect in humanitarian supply chains (HSCs). Using a collaborative mixed‐methods research with an international humanitarian organization, this paper sheds light on the causes of unsustainable operations in HSCs …
Closer to the state, closer to the polls? The different impact of corruption on turnout among public employees and other citizens
Research on the link between turnout and corruption has produced inconclusive evidence: while some studies find corruption to be positively related to turnout, others report a negative relationship. This article argues that the relevant question is not whether corruption has a positive or negative effect on turnout, but for whom. We hypothesize that the effect of corruption on the likelihood to vote depends on individuals’ employment sector. Publ…
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…
Boosting work through welfare? Individual-level employment outcomes of social investment across European welfare states through the Great Recession
Given the heterogeneity of European welfare states, governments’ efforts in ‘social investment’ reform may reap different outcomes in different national contexts. Through multi-level modelling based on longitudinal microdata from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (2004–2013) and on country-level policy indicators, this article assesses: whether citizens of countries that put higher budgetary efforts into social investment have bet…
Organisational choices in public procurement: What Can Public Management Learn From the Private Sector
In the public context, the efficient and effective management of procurement activities has a crucial impact on the achievement of operational and broader government objectives. In particular, the potential contribution of procurement within local governments has been broadly recognized, and organisational procurement choices represent a strategic aspect that must be managed to contribute to these objectives. Through the analysis of data on 371 I…
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Procurement Performance Management Systems in Local Governments
Increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and compliance of public procurement (PP) has become an ongoing concern for governments. Public administrations at different levels are realising that – in order for PP to fulfil its mission – appropriate control and diagnostic systems must be put in place. This study aims to investigate the architecture of PP performance measurement systems (PP-PMSs) in local governments, drawing on four case studies fro…
Which Roads (if any) to Social Investment? The Recalibration of EU Welfare States at the Crisis Crossroads (2000-2014)
The social investment approach has been advocated as a blueprint for recasting European welfare states since the years of the Lisbon Strategy. After the Euro crisis squeezed the fiscal space available for welfare recalibration, the question has been raised as to whether social investment could withstand the economic turmoil. Relying on a new welfare expenditure dataset constructed from various Eurostat sources, this article looks at the budgetary…
On the role of regional hubs in the environmental sustainability of humanitarian supply chains
In spite of strong commitment of humanitarian and development communities with the protection of our planet, expressed through the Sustainable Development Goals in the Agenda 2030, environmental sustainability still remains an overlooked aspect in humanitarian supply chains (HSCs). Using a collaborative mixed‐methods research with an international humanitarian organization, this paper sheds light on the causes of unsustainable operations in HSCs …
The Puzzle of Expansionary Welfare Reforms under Harsh Austerity: Explaining the Italian Case
Published online: 01 Aug 2019
Organisational choices in public procurement: What Can Public Management Learn From the Private Sector
In the public context, the efficient and effective management of procurement activities has a crucial impact on the achievement of operational and broader government objectives. In particular, the potential contribution of procurement within local governments has been broadly recognized, and organisational procurement choices represent a strategic aspect that must be managed to contribute to these objectives. Through the analysis of data on 371 I…
Closer to the state, closer to the polls? The different impact of corruption on turnout among public employees and other citizens
Research on the link between turnout and corruption has produced inconclusive evidence: while some studies find corruption to be positively related to turnout, others report a negative relationship. This article argues that the relevant question is not whether corruption has a positive or negative effect on turnout, but for whom. We hypothesize that the effect of corruption on the likelihood to vote depends on individuals’ employment sector. Publ…
Recent Developments: Social Investment Reform in the Twenty-First Century
The trajectory of developed welfare states in the early twenty-first century is perhaps best understood through the idea of ‘social investment’. The first section of the chapter defines social investment as a sui generis welfare paradigm, distinct from both the Keynesian–Beveridgean welfare state and its neoliberal critique, and analytically rooted in the three interrelated policy functions of lifelong human capital stocks, work–life-balanced flo…
Walking the road together? EU polity maintenance during the Covid-19 crisis
This article investigates the ‘conflict parabola’ of the negotiations between EU member states during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis reopened the foundational controversy over cross-national solidarity under economic adversities. After a peak of conflict in March–April 2020, the political climate gradually shifted from antagonism to appeasement, creating the conditions necessary for the adoption of the Next Generation EU plan. Building on the …
European Welfare States’ Detour(s) to Social Investment
Since the end of the twentieth century, European welfare states have been reconfiguring the basic policy mixes upon which they were built after 1945. In the process, the overarching social policy objective has shifted from fighting unemployment in the 1990s to promoting employment participation through social investment. This chapter introduces the concept of social investment as a key to understanding recent welfare state change in Europe, in an…
Closer in hard times? The drivers of European solidarity in ‘normal’ and ‘crisis’ times
This article examines the trends and differences in predictors of public support for European Union (EU) fiscal solidarity using two individual surveys conducted in 2019 and 2020, before and during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, in six Western European countries. We focus on individual self-interest and European/national identification as the two major determinants of public preference formation. Empirical analyses show that, while the …
EU resilience in times of Covid? Polity maintenance, public support, and solidarity
This introduction presents the theoretical framework, aims, and summary of this special issue. We want to explain the European Union’s (EU) response to the COVID crisis from a ‘polity perspective’ (Kriesi 2021; Ferrera 2005). We conceptualize the EU as a compound ‘experimental’ polity which develops along three dimensions: binding (capacity building and sovereignty), bounding (bordering), and bonding (solidarity and loyalty). We structure the con…
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…
Boosting work through welfare? Individual-level employment outcomes of social investment across European welfare states through the Great Recession
Given the heterogeneity of European welfare states, governments’ efforts in ‘social investment’ reform may reap different outcomes in different national contexts. Through multi-level modelling based on longitudinal microdata from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (2004–2013) and on country-level policy indicators, this article assesses: whether citizens of countries that put higher budgetary efforts into social investment have bet…
Social investment as a conceptual framework for analysing well-being returns and reforms in 21st century welfare states
Welfare provision is often conceived through the lens of decommodification and analysed in (re)distributive terms. This article argues that a distributive approach does not sufficiently capture the complexity of 21st century welfare state dynamics. It proposes re-conceptualizing provision as a mix of three policy functions: raising and maintaining human capital stock; easing the flow of gendered life-course and labour-market transitions; guarante…
Buffering national welfare states in hard times: The politics of EU capacity‐building in the social policy domain
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…
The middle-class base of European integration? New class divides and attitudes towards market integration in ten EU countries
Highly educated 'new' middle classes have been identified as a fundamental constituency that, by supporting technological innovation and liberalisation, bolsters the stability of advanced capitalism. By contrast, less educated production workers are usually described as opponents of such policies. This article investigates the extent to which these class divides translate into different positions on support for EU integration, a key process in th…
The Politics of the European Minimum Wage: Overcoming Ideological, Territorial and Institutional Conflicts in the EU Multi‐level Arena
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…
Poor Work, Poor Welfare? Occupational Welfare in Cooperative Enterprises: A Case Study From I taly
In times of fast‐changing social needs and limited public resources, private welfare provision plays an increasingly prominent role in the welfare mix. This article explores two dimensions of this trend, which have often been examined separately: occupational welfare (OW) and employment in the social economy. We investigate their interplay through a case study of cooperative enterprises in Italy. While cooperatives are central actors in Italy's s…
Economics (18 works) · Political science (17 works) · Politics (13 works) · Social Policy and Reform Studies (13 works) · Welfare (10 works) · Economic policy (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Market economy (8 works) · Welfare state (8 works) · European union (7 works)