Month: March 2015

• Open positions: Two doctoral researchers

  I am looking for two doctoral researchers. The successful candidates are expected to pursue a PhD degree in political science connected to the new research project entitled “Governance in Vocational and Professional Education and Training” (GOVPET). GOVPET investigates how decentralized cooperation between firms, associations and public authorities in skill formation works at the regional and sectoral levels as well as how the inclusion of disadvantaged labour market participants in the systems of (initial and continuous) vocational and professional training can be improved. GOVPET is a collaborative project of the University of St. Gallen (Prof. Patrick Emmenegger), the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Prof. Carmen Baumeler), the University of Lausanne (Prof. Giuliano Bonoli), and the University of Cologne (Prof. Dr. Christine Trampusch). The successful applicants are expected to work closely together with Prof. Emmenegger and Prof. Trampusch. For more information on GOVPET, go to this website.

  Applicants are expected to hold a Master degree in social sciences or economics and demonstrate a strong ability and motivation to pursue an academic career. The position presupposes an interest in theory-driven empirical research on topics of educational and vocational training systems, labor markets and political institutions. A good command of one Swiss national language and English, both spoken and written, is expected.

  The position starts in July 2015 (or upon agreement later) and is for a period of three years, with the possibility of extension for another two years. The salary aligns with the directives of the University of St. Gallen and amounts to about 42,000 CHF in the first year.

  Applicants should send their full application (in German or English) – including cover letter, CV, letter of motivation, examples of their academic work (e.g. their MA dissertation or seminar papers), copies of relevant certificates and the contact details of two academic references – to Prof. Patrick Emmenegger (patrick.emmenegger@unisg.ch) no later than April 17, 2015. For further inquiry, please send an email to Prof. Patrick Emmenegger.

  2015.03.24

• Project: The Demise of Swiss Banking Secrecy

  Swiss banking secrecy was considered impenetrable. Hans-Rudolf Merz, member of the Swiss Federal Council, became famous for calling it ‘a nut too hard to crack’ (in German he said that “An diesem Bankgeheimnis werdet ihr euch die Zähne ausbeissen” but this statement cannot be directly translated into English). Well, he was wrong, wasn’t he? The Swiss Government has announced to implement the automatic exchange of information in tax matters by 2018.

  How can we account for this dramatic change? In the project on the demise of Swiss banking secrecy, I am trying together with Katrin Eggenberger to explain why Switzerland wasn’t able to defend banking secrecy and why collective action at the international level suddenly became a possibility. More information on the project can be found on the project website.

  2015.03.17

• Project: Governance in Vocational and Professional Education and Training

  In this new project, I am working together with Carmen Baumeler (EHB Zollikofen), Giuliano Bonoli (University of Lausanne) and Christine Trampusch (University of Cologne) to analyze cooperation and conflict in vocational and professional education and training systems. More information can be found on the project website.

  2015.03.17

• Project: The Adoption of Personal Income Taxation

  Together with Lucas Leemann (University College London) and André Walter (University of St. Gallen), I am looking into the adoption of personal income taxation in Swiss cantons. For this project, we assemble an original dataset of economic, political and social variables for the period 1830-1970. More information can be found on the project website.

  2015.03.17

• New publications

  I’ve recently published a series of articles. These papers have already been published or are forthcoming:

  Emmenegger, Patrick, Marx, Paul and Dominik Schraff (2015). Labour Market Disadvantage, Political Orientations and Voting: How Adverse Labour Market Experiences Translate into Electoral Behaviour. Socio-Economic Review. Forthcoming. (this is the revised version of the paper that netted us the best paper award at the 2014 CES conference)

  Emmenegger, Patrick and Klaus Petersen (2015). Taking History Seriously in Comparative Research: The Case of Electoral System Choice, 1890-1939. Comparative European Politics. Forthcoming. (an attempt to combine methodological insights from both history and political science)

  Emmenegger, Patrick (2015). Maximizing Institutional Control: Union Power and Dismissal Protection in the First Half of the Twentieth Century. Comparative Politics. Forthcoming. (based on my research on the politics of job security regulations)

  Emmenegger, Patrick (2015): From Drift to Layering: The Historical Development of Job Security Regulations in Western Europe. Politics and Society 43(1): 89-118. (based on my research on the politics of job security regulations)

  Emmenegger, Patrick, Kvist, Jon, Marx, Paul and Klaus Petersen (2015): Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism: The Making of a Classic. Journal of European Social Policy 25(1): 3-13. (part of the special issue celebrating the 25th birthday of Esping-Andersen’s Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism)

  2015.03.17