LA COMPARAZIONE CROSS-NATIONAL• GLI STUDI DI CASI E L’APPROCCIO PER

VARIABILI• metodi qualitativi vs. quantitativi nella

macrosociologia comparata• Explanatory factorsEconomic (growth & technology)Cultural (social norms and values)Institutional (political system and

organisations)1

STUDI DI CASI• olismo non radicale• nazioni = configurazione storico-sociale unica e

complessa,ma• accettabile astrarre caratteristiche/ attributi,

che possono esser comparate- variabili identificate implicitamentema - mantenuta identificabilità dei casi• metodo della concordanza e della differenza• carattere logico → proposizioni deterministiche

2

Case-oriented approach

- Focus on how phenomena are working in each case

- Country = case considered as a “whole”

- Qualitative variables are often stressed

- (Very) few country-cases

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APPROCCIO PER VARIABILI• sfida alla pretesa storicista• nazioni = uniche,• comparazione olistica impossibile • obiettivo: sostituire i nomi delle nazioni

con quelli delle variabili• ogni nazione caratterizzata da un valore

di variabile dipendente e di variabili indipendenti

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Variable-oriented approach

- Focus on relations between variables

- Country = set of items of variables included in the analysis

- Usually quantitative variables (data- bases)

- A large number of countries

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PROBLEMA DEI PICCOLI NUMERI• limitato numero di casi → modelli sovra

determinati con insufficienti gradi di libertà• ma non può essere risolto da studi di casologica di Mill • presuppone - inclusione di tutti i fattori causali- assenza di interazioni tra fattori• implica- società governata da leggi deterministiche- dati raccolti privi di ogni errore

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IL PROBLEMA DI GALTON= mancanza di indipendenza delle

osservazioni nazonali• correlazioni istituzionali potrebbero

sorgere• non da processi interni a società,• ma essere risultato di processi di

diffusione culturale/politica tra società

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IL PROBLEMA DI GALTON• riguarda solo studio comparativo delle

politiche pubbliche (pressione delle organizzazioni internazionali e della internazionalizzazione dell’economia)

• è possibile incorporare nell’analisi i processi responsabili di interdipendenza

• introdurre idea di “famiglia di nazioni”• Confini e limiti della macrosociologia• Processi intersocietali vs. intrasocietali

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IL PROBLEMA DELLA SCATOLA NERA

= come si passa dalle inferenze descrittive a quelle causali

• analisi quantitativa cross-national dice poco sui processi e le azioni sociali alla base delle relazioni tra variabili empiricamente individuate

occorre• avere un resoconto “casualmente adeguato”

del modo in cui sono generate tali regolarità9

IL PROBLEMA DELLA SCATOLA NERA

non bastano• sequenza di eventi storici• assemblaggio di induzioni, • ridescrizione di regolarità empiriche

all’interno di struttura concettualetroppo spazio per spiegazioni ad hoc• un resoconto teorico deve avere pretesa di

generalità• teoria generale = applicabile in contesti sociali

molto lontani nel tempo e nello spazio10

Macro-variable-oriented approachMerits• Easy availability of national average

data allows exploratory analyses on many countries, also for long periods.

Limits• Number of countries often restricted

for statistical methods (regressions).• Choice of countries can undermine

the results.• Macro-relations may not be confirmed

at the micro level.11

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Two easy examples concerning the choice of countries

1. Cross-national relation between penalisation of women and their labour market participation.

2. Cross-national relation between female employment and the proportion of part time.

Women in the labour market: at a cross-road between cultural norms, socio-political institutions, economic growth.

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Fig. 1. Relation between women penalisation and their labour market participation, Western European countries

2005

y = -0,0328x + 3,3999

R2 = 0,3891

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

Women activity rate

Rat

io o

f wom

en/m

en

unem

ploy

men

t rat

es

14

The underlying hypothesisWomen are more penalised in societies that are less accustomed to regarding their participation in the labour market as fully normal by social standards (gender culture: mother vs. worker).ButSuch a hypothesis is grounded on the choice of countries where labour market participation of women was growing over time at least since early Seventies

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Fig. 2. Relation between women penalisation and their labour market participation. All European countries, 2005

y = -0,0203x + 2,4732

R2 = 0,1589

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

Women activity rate

Rat

io o

f wom

en/m

en

unem

ploy

men

t rat

es

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Fig. 3. Relation between women penalisation and their labour market participation. Eastern European countries,

2005

y = -0,0002x + 1,0759

R2 = 0,00

0,60

0,70

0,80

0,90

1,00

1,10

1,20

1,30

1,40

1,50

1,60

54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68

Women activity rate

Rat

io o

f wom

en/m

en

unem

ploy

men

t rat

es

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The different story of former planned societies

Near full employment also for women in planned societies; then transition caused a more or less important decrease of women activity rate and increase of unemployment, both for women and men.In those countries, long time fully accustomed in regarding women as workers, their (recent) penalisation followed idiosyncratic pathways.

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Fig. 4. Relation between women employment and part time. Western European countries, 2005

y = 0,9349x - 23,337

R2 = 0,2725

0,0

10,0

20,0

30,0

40,0

50,0

60,0

70,0

80,0

40,0 45,0 50,0 55,0 60,0 65,0 70,0 75,0

Employment rate (15-64 yrs)

% p

art

tim

e

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The underlying hypothesisSince early ’70s, growth in % part time paralleled growth of women employment in all Western countries (but Italy till early ’90s).Part time pushed women employment because it let also poorly educated (and more family-committed / poorly paid) women to get a paid work.So, women are more employed in countries where opportunities for part time jobs are larger.

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Fig. 5. Relation between women employment and part time. Eastern European countries, 2005

y = 0,0454x + 5,7483

R2 = 0,0061

0,0

2,0

4,0

6,0

8,0

10,0

12,0

14,0

40,0 45,0 50,0 55,0 60,0 65,0

Employment rate (15-64 yrs)

% P

art

tim

e

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The different story of former planned societies

In those countries also poorly educated women were accustomed to being fully employed in full time jobs.When transition caused a more or less important decrease in their employment rate, the proportion of women in part time jobs remained very low and cross-nationally followed idiosyncratic pathways without any relation with their labour participation.

Societal analysis approach- Micro-macro analysis- Two steps:1. stressing relations between

variables inside any country (also at individual level)

2. cross-national comparing the results of those relations

Quali/quantitative variables (recently also longitudinal)

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Societal analysis approach- Medium number of countries- Standardised data-sets are

neededUsual outcomes = typologies• - un/employment models• - labour market systems• - welfare regimes

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Cross-national variation in youth unemployment

Variation in total unemployment rate among EU countries is important, but more important is variation in penalisation of youth vs. prime age people.Ratio of youth/adult unemployment rates ranges from 1.1 to 3.6

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The connection with the strictness of the labour market regulation

• Oecd tried to cross-nationally relates

- unemployment rate to EIP → failure

- youth/adult unemployment rate to EIP

→ failure

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Educational system’s role in the transition from school to work

• Vocational education → signalling a job seeker for a job → reducing seeking time

• General education→ no signalling function

• Where vocational education prevails, impact of high EIP is counterbalanced

[Breen 2005] macro-cross-national 27

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