Social Policy and Sustainability
While welfare states and associated social policies have been successful in addressing social risks associated with the provision of capitalist growth and increasing their citizens’ wellbeing, they have also contributed to climate emergency and the ecological crisis. We carry out social-policy research of traditional themes such as labour markets, inequality or poverty, but also and particularly in the new circumstances of climate emergency.
Considering different scales from the local to the EU level, we (co-)develop relevant theoretical concepts such as ‘sustainable welfare’ and ‘degrowth/postgrowth’, conduct corresponding empirical research - for example into attitudes towards sustainable welfare and alternative forms of political mobilization. We also identify ‘eco-social’ policies capable of reembedding economy and society in planetary boundaries.
Latest publications within the area
Varieties of Economic Elites? Preliminary Results From the World Elite Database (WED)
Varieties of Economic Elites? Preliminary Results From the World Elite Database (WED)Bühlmann, F., Christesen, C. A., Co..."What have future generations ever done for us?" Future Expectations and Present Dispositions for Social-Ecological Transformations
"What have future generations ever done for us?" Future Expectations and Present Dispositions for Social-Ecological Tran...A sustainable welfare deal for a postgrowth Europe
A sustainable welfare deal for a postgrowth EuropeKoch, M., 2025 Mar 18, JCMS Blog.Research output: Other contribution ›...Europe in the Postgrowth Era: Towards A sustainable welfare deal
Europe in the Postgrowth Era: Towards A sustainable welfare dealKoch, M., 2025 Mar 16, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journa...‘I feel good here’: A qualitative study on subsidised employment in a Swedish municipal labour market programme
‘I feel good here’: A qualitative study on subsidised employment in a Swedish municipal labour market programmeParsland,...
Research Portal
Read more about our research, researchers and research output.
Economic Elites in the Climate Change Transformation
A research project on Practices, justifications and regulations of unsustainable lifestyles in Sweden.
Regulating the Polluter Elite
A research project about Exploring policy measures limiting carbon footprints of the rich.
FlyWell
A research project on how to reduce air travel and at the same time maintain a high quality of life.