Varieties of equality in European welfare states

a multi-disciplinary approach to redistribution

In the decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union, how have policymakers redefined and pursued equality? What intellectual frameworks guide its contemporary implementation?

Varieties of Equality in European Welfare States examines how different European societies understand and pursue equality, and why these approaches diverge in economic strategies and value choices. The book traces how welfare institutions, political traditions, and public attitudes shape different pathways to equality, offering a comparative lens on redistribution, social rights and value hierarchies. It argues that equality is not a single ideal but a complex family of principles that interact with each country’s history, values, and policy choices.

In this public event, the discussion will extend beyond the European frame of the book. After the book’s presentation, the panel will bring their expertise in comparative welfare systems, political economy, and international relations to explore how the book’s themes resonate with today’s wider geopolitical and macroeconomic shifts in a more uncertain world. The discussion revolves around bridging the forms of equality mapped in the book to global imbalances, the rise of a more multipolar order, and changing perspectives on the future of the welfare state. This event offers a unique opportunity to bring equality back to the discussion in a rapidly transforming world—and what it means for the policy discussions ahead.

Meet our speaker, chair, and discussant

Davide Orsitto serves at Italy’s Ministry of Finance, where he manages institutional relations with the International Monetary Fund. Alongside his government work, he is an adjunct professor at John Cabot University, teaching Quantitative Methods for Political Science. He earned his PhD cum laude from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and held visiting research positions at Roskilde University and the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. His recent publications include the 2024 monograph Varieties of Equality in European Welfare States (Edward Elgar). He further developed this line of inquiry in his 2025 article for Comparative European Politics, “Unity or Fragmentation? Ideological Shifts and Their Economic Consequences in the Euro Area” (Springer).

Minna van Gerven is Professor of Social Policy and Head of the Discipline of Social and Public Policy at the University of Helsinki. Her research gravitates at the intersection of comparative social policy, welfare-state change, and the challenges of welfare state transformation. She has long studied European social policy and the European social model, with particular attention to how national welfare states adapt to social, economic, and institutional pressures stemming from Europeanisation. Her main research interests include social security, unemployment and activation policy, family and long-term care policy, and the broader dynamics of welfare reform across Europe and beyond. More recently, she has turned her attention to the digitalization of social policy and the implications of technological change for welfare states.

Professor van Gerven has published widely in leading international, peer-reviewed journals — including the Journal of European Social Policy, Social Policy & Administration, and Policy & Society — and has contributed to numerous edited volumes. She is also co-editor of the international reference work Encyclopedia of Public Policy (Springer, 2023–), which brings together over 200 entries to provide a comprehensive resource for public policy research and practice. In addition to her publishing record, van Gerven has led major European and national research projects. She is currently leading the research project REPAIR: Valuable Breakages – Repair and Renewal of Algorithmic Systems, funded by the Research Council of Finland, which examines how algorithmic systems and automation intersect with social policy and welfare institutions.

Stefan Collignon is a guest lecturer in European Political Economy at the LSE European Institute and Professor of Political Economy at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa.

More about this event

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