van den Berg, Axel
Axel van der Berg's main empirical research deals with the question whether and how different configurations of social protection and labour market policy undermine or strengthen economic efficiency. His theoretical interests range from the debates about the status of rational choice theory and its cultural-institutional alternatives within the social sciences, flawed attempts to integrate ‘agency’ and ‘structure’ in social science explanatory models, and fads and fashions in contemporary, especially self-declared ‘critical’ social theory.
Listing Details
Current position(s), Institution
Professor, Department of Sociology, McGill University
Fields of expertise
Economic sociology
Welfare states and labour markets
Contemporary sociological theory
Welfare states and labour markets
Contemporary sociological theory
Research Groups
Projects relevant to the cluster
Research Grant, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, for “Shifting Interactions Between Employment and Social Policies: New Welfare Regimes in OECD Countries and Canadian Provinces?,” with Paul Bernard (Université de Montréal), 2008-2011, $110,000.
Research Grant, Ministère du développement économique, de l’innovation et de l’exportation du Québec, Direction des collaborations internationales, for “L’évolution des régimes sociaux et d’emploi au Québec et au Canada dans une perspective comparative,” with Paul Bernard (Université de Montréal), 2009-2012, $126,500.
Both of these are closely linked to:
Member, Collaborative Project, European Union 7th Framework Program, “Analysing, Comparing and Evaluating the Various Societal Models in A Medium to Long-term Perspective” (GUSTO), 2009-2012.
Research Grant, Ministère du développement économique, de l’innovation et de l’exportation du Québec, Direction des collaborations internationales, for “L’évolution des régimes sociaux et d’emploi au Québec et au Canada dans une perspective comparative,” with Paul Bernard (Université de Montréal), 2009-2012, $126,500.
Both of these are closely linked to:
Member, Collaborative Project, European Union 7th Framework Program, “Analysing, Comparing and Evaluating the Various Societal Models in A Medium to Long-term Perspective” (GUSTO), 2009-2012.
Publications related to European/EU Studies
“Research in Transitional Labour Markets: Implications for the European Employment Strategy,” Ch. 3 (pp. 63-106) in Ralph Rogowski, ed., 2009. The European Social Model and Transitional Labour Markets: Law and Policy, Ashgate, Axel van den Berg and Erik de Gier.
“From Unemployment to Employment Insurance: Towards Transitional Labour Markets in Canada?”, Ch. 12 (pp. 307-341) in Ruud Muffels, ed., 2008. Flexibility and Work Security in Europe: Labour Markets in Transition, Edward Elgar, Axel van den Berg, Claus-Henning von Restorff, Daniel Parent and Anthony C. Masi.
Managing Social Risks through Transitional Labour Markets: towards an enriched European Employment Strategy, Erik de Gier and Axel van den Berg, Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis/Transaction Publishers, 2006.
“From Unemployment to Employment Insurance: Towards Transitional Labour Markets in Canada?”, Ch. 12 (pp. 307-341) in Ruud Muffels, ed., 2008. Flexibility and Work Security in Europe: Labour Markets in Transition, Edward Elgar, Axel van den Berg, Claus-Henning von Restorff, Daniel Parent and Anthony C. Masi.
Managing Social Risks through Transitional Labour Markets: towards an enriched European Employment Strategy, Erik de Gier and Axel van den Berg, Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis/Transaction Publishers, 2006.
Open to media contact
YES
Institution
McGill University, Department of Sociology
Department Phone Number
514-398-6846
E-mail
Education and professional achievements
PhD, McGill University, 1985
1999-present, Member, Executive Council, Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics
2004-2005, Marie Curie Incoming International Fellow, SISWO/Social Policy Research and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS).
1999-present, Member, Executive Council, Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics
2004-2005, Marie Curie Incoming International Fellow, SISWO/Social Policy Research and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS).
Courses taught
Undergraduate Courses: SOCI-304 Sociology of the Welfare State, SOCI 312 Industrial Sociology, SOCI 470 Topics in Economic Sociology; Graduate Seminar: SOCI 652 Current Sociological Theory
Fluent spoken languages
English, French, Dutch, German, Swedish
Fluent written languages
English, French, Dutch
