WELCOME to the sociology GROUP at The University of Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

The sociology section is made up of nine full-time lecturers, five part-time associate lecturers and two doctoral scholarship holders. The area follows a predominantly multidisciplinary perspective incorporating demographic analysis, labour relations studies and sociological analysis with a clear leaning towards studies of a quantitative nature and comparative research in the European field. The sociology section participates in interdisciplinary programmes pertaining to Political and Administration Sciences, Labour Sciences and Labour Relations at UPF.

The main research areas are social and economic inequality, the sociology of the family, studies on the labour market and working life as well as the assessment of social policies. The research being conducted is financed by different institutions such as the Ministry of Science and Technology, the European Commission and several private foundations. Currently, the sociology section is a part of the VI Framework Programme of the European Community with the project entitled: "Economic change, quality of life and social cohesion".

The Sociology section at Universitat Pompeu Fabra keeps important links with institutions of great international prestige and collaborates with university programmes in Europe and North America. Among the centres involved is the Max Planck Institute for Demography (Rostock), Nuffield College (Oxford), Harvard University's Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality & Social Policy, the Danish Institute for Social Research (Copenhaguen), the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, the London School of Economics, el Department of Sociology of Bamberg University, the Scienze del Lavoro of Milan University, the European University Institute (Florence), the Juan March Foundation Madrid and the University of Toronto.

Research

In recent years, we have performed an important number of studies aimed at analysing the consequences that the appearance of the new service economy and the restructuring of the labour markets are having on occupation. We concentrated on examining how changes to the role of women stimulate the growth of social and personal services, and, at the same time, obstacles and tension arise with the growth of female labour supply.

Another area of research is related to the constraints suffered by women in work opportunities and social mobility. We are especially interested in analysing the decisions to have children and work according to two sets of factors: the social policies that help to reconciling work and the family and the occupational structure.

Finally, our research is also concerned with the analysis of social mobility. We know that long-term trends in the labour market may lead to polarisation between occupations that require a high level of training on the one hand, and occupations requiring very few qualifications on the other; especially in the social and personal services sector. The new knowledge-based society increases and changes the demands for human capital but opens the door for part of the labour force to remain trapped in inferior occupations with potential long-term consequences on people's careers and lives. We are also interested, in this line of research, in assessing the extent to which early attendance at pre-school helps to equal up people's opportunities in life.