Public Policies, Technology, and Democracy
The research activities of this group focus on the structural transformations of economic, political, and social systems in advanced capitalist democracies, on the sociopolitical factors that drive and influence them, and on the consequences that arise in terms of citizens’ political behaviour, competition for power among organized groups, and public policies and reforms adopted by governments. The group integrates theoretical and methodological approaches within political science, including comparative politics and comparative political economy, European integration studies, and public policy analysis. Contemporary socioeconomic transformations and their political and policy consequences are investigated using both quantitative empirical methods—including experimental techniques and causal inference—and qualitative methods, such as process tracing and implementation analysis. The group aims to contribute to an evidence-based public debate regarding the political and economic challenges of modernity, with particular attention to the effectiveness and legitimacy of policy responses.
- Political Consequences of Structural Change in Knowledge Economies
The political economy of contemporary societies is undergoing profound transformations, driven by rapid technological innovation—particularly related to artificial intelligence—(de)globalization, and the ecological transition. These economic, political, and social transformations pose new challenges to the democratic legitimacy of policy decisions and representative institutions. In this area, the group conducts empirical research on the transformations of labour and the political economy in advanced capitalist democracies, highlighting their causal mechanisms and distributive and political consequences. A key dimension of analysis concerns political behaviour and public opinion attitudes toward issues at the core of these transformations, using different survey techniques—including experimental methodologies and causal inference tools—to understand the factors that shape citizens’ political preferences. Analyses are based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. In particular, the research group has strong expertise in factorial survey experimental research designs.
- Socioeconomic Transformations, Politics, and Reforms of the Welfare State and Labor Market
Social and labour market policies play a crucial role in mediating the effects of the structural transformations of the economy, helping to mitigate the costs of ongoing transitions while at the same time generating new structuring of the political community and influencing political attitudes and behaviours. This line of research analyzes the evolution of policies and institutions in the socioeconomic field, with particular attention, on the one hand, to structural reforms and their politics in democratic arenas constrained by regional and international economic and political integration, and, on the other, to their impact on income production and (re)distribution, as well as on human capital, and through these channels on political behaviour. Another area of investigation concerns the effects of digitalization on the functioning of public policies and institutions. Analyses adopt a mixed methodological approach. In particular, the research group has strong expertise in causal reconstruction of complex reform processes.
- Politics and Political Economy of the European Integration Process
The process of European integration is a fundamental component of the economic and democratic resilience of member states. In an international landscape increasingly characterized by political and economic conflicts between major powers, EU member states tend to consider the process of European integration as highly strategic. This process, however, is influenced both by the continuous rise of populist parties in various member states and by the vulnerability of the current institutional system and the distribution of competences and sovereignty between the Union and member states in the face of economic and geopolitical shocks. In this line of research, the group studies how such shocks or crises affect European integration processes, public preferences, European policies, and the institutional configuration of the Union itself.
Keywords:
- public policies
- socioeconomic transformations
- political system
- labor market
- welfare state
- European integration.
Selected funded research projects: Sfide e prospettive per un “golden power europeo”. Spunti di metodo in chiave interdisciplinare a partire dal settore dell'aerospazio (2025-2026) – Responsabile Scientifico (Stefano Sacchi); PRIN DIGITRANS-PAR - Drivers and impact of digital transformation of the Italian PA at the regional level, (2023-2026) – Responsabile Scientifico (Stefano Sacchi); PRIN FusEUrope - European cooperation in nuclear fusion research: from history to future policy design, (2023-2026) - Responsabile Scientifico di Struttura (Francesco Nicoli); Support the European and global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Variants of Concern (VOC) (2023-2026) - Responsabile Scientifico (Francesco Nicoli); ‘L’IA nelle imprese: indagine sul ruolo delle nuove tecnologie nei processi aziendali e nel mercato del lavoro italiano’ (2024-2025) – Responsabile Scientifico (Stefano Sacchi); EU green public procurement strategies project, (2024-2025) - Responsabile Scientifico (Francesco Nicoli); Golden Power - Mappatura degli asset tecnologici strategici per l'esercizio del golden power (2023-2024) – Responsabile Scientifico (Stefano Sacchi); La réalisation d’une revue prospective de la littérature sur les enjeux de la transformation numérique des industries - Marché n° S2.00.00.04 Haut-23-2590, (2023-2024) - Responsabile Scientifico (Francesco Nicoli); Accordo quadro ex art. 15, L. 241/90 tra il Politecnico di Torino – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Gestionale e della Produzione - DIGEP e l’Agenzia del lavoro della Provincia Autonoma di Trento, (2021-2022) – Responsabile Contrattuale (Stefano Sacchi); DIGIPAL - Digitalizzazione e politiche attive del lavoro: indicazioni per la trasformazione organizzativa e la governance dei Centri per l'impiego, (2020-2021) – Responsabile Scientifico (Stefano Sacchi).