The thesis deals with municipal entrepreneurship support policies (MESPs) through a comparison between the actions undertaken in this field by the municipalities of Milan and Barcelona and the experiences of young people up to thirty-five years of age. The theoretical framework has brought together the neo-Marxian and neo-Weberian approaches to urban policies and governance, and the socio-economic literature and theoretically valuable institutional documentation on entrepreneurship, also in the framework of welfare changes. Two analytical macro approaches emerged from this literature. The first highlights the convergence towards neoliberal governance and welfare models, oriented towards market and competitiveness at the expense of social cohesion. A trend of which the policies for entrepreneurship seem to constitute a paradigmatic example. The second one focuses on the peculiarities of the European city and on the compromise between growth and social inclusion that would characterise it, supporting the opposite thesis of the persistent difference between cities and of the divergence from the neoliberal logic. Against this background, the research focused on local differences and the role of municipal governments and their capacity to govern socio-economic and political changes. Besides, attention has been paid to the experiences of young people and policy outcomes in terms of redistribution of risks and opportunities. The analysis avails itself of an interpretative approach, a methodology based on the case study and the technique of the interview, and a comparative logic, which puts the differences and the related factors of influence at the centre of the study. After having placed MESPs within the socio-economic and institutional conditions of the two contexts, and given research findings, the thesis focused on the heterogeneity characterising different dimensions of MESPs. These include ideas and values, problems, objectives, measures and tools and outcomes. It highlighted how politics, institutional legacies, localised policy paradigms and governance arrangements interplay to shape specific and diverse local approaches to MESPs, thus affecting the capacity of city governments to govern socio-economic changes and to alter the unequal distribution of risks and opportunities for participants.

La tesi ha come oggetto di studio le politiche comunali di supporto all’imprenditorialità. In particolare, mette a confronto le politiche promosse dalle città di Milano e Barcellona e le esperienze di giovani fino a trentacinque anni di età. Il quadro interpretativo attinge, da un lato, agli studi sulle politiche e la governance urbana di impronta neo-Marxiana e neo-Weberiana e, dall’altro, alla letteratura socioeconomica e alla documentazione istituzionale teoricamente rilevante sull’imprenditorialità anche nella cornice degli studi sulla riorganizzazione del welfare. Da questa letteratura sono emersi due macro-approcci analitici. Il primo mette in evidenza la convergenza verso modelli di governance e di welfare neoliberali improntati alle esigenze del mercato e della competitività a discapito della coesione sociale. Un trend di cui le politiche per l’imprenditorialità sembrano costituire un esempio paradigmatico. Il secondo, mette a fuoco le peculiarità della città Europea e la tenuta del compromesso tra crescita e inclusione sociale che la caratterizzerebbe, sostenendo la tesi opposta della differenza tra le città e della divergenza rispetto alle logiche neoliberali. In questo quadro, la ricerca ha messo al centro dell’analisi le differenze locali, il ruolo dei governi urbani e la loro capacità di governare le trasformazioni socioeconomiche e politiche in corso, e inoltre gli effetti in termini di redistribuzione di rischi e opportunità tra i destinatari delle azioni. Per farlo, si è avvalsa di un approccio interpretativo, una metodologia basata sullo studio di caso e sulla tecnica dell’intervista, e un’analisi comparativa, che mette al centro dello studio le differenze e i relativi fattori di influenza. Dopo aver situato l’oggetto di studio all’interno delle condizioni socioeconomiche e istituzionali che caratterizzano i due contesti, e sulla base dei risultati emersi, la tesi mette a fuoco, innanzitutto, l’eterogeneità che caratterizza le diverse dimensioni di policy. Queste includono idee e valori, problemi, obiettivi, misure e strumenti, nonché le esperienze dei giovani beneficiari intervistati. Infine, mette in evidenza il modo in cui orientamenti politici, paradigmi di policy locali, eredità istituzionali e sistemi di governance interagiscono per dare forma a specifici e differenti approcci alle politiche di supporto all’imprenditorialità nelle due città, e come queste influenzano la capacità di governare i cambiamenti e alternare la distribuzione dei rischi e delle opportunità tra i partecipanti.

(2019). Active Cities for Activation Policies. Entrepreneurship support and young people in Milan and Barcelona. (Tesi di dottorato, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2019).

Active Cities for Activation Policies. Entrepreneurship support and young people in Milan and Barcelona

DODARO, MARIA
2019

Abstract

The thesis deals with municipal entrepreneurship support policies (MESPs) through a comparison between the actions undertaken in this field by the municipalities of Milan and Barcelona and the experiences of young people up to thirty-five years of age. The theoretical framework has brought together the neo-Marxian and neo-Weberian approaches to urban policies and governance, and the socio-economic literature and theoretically valuable institutional documentation on entrepreneurship, also in the framework of welfare changes. Two analytical macro approaches emerged from this literature. The first highlights the convergence towards neoliberal governance and welfare models, oriented towards market and competitiveness at the expense of social cohesion. A trend of which the policies for entrepreneurship seem to constitute a paradigmatic example. The second one focuses on the peculiarities of the European city and on the compromise between growth and social inclusion that would characterise it, supporting the opposite thesis of the persistent difference between cities and of the divergence from the neoliberal logic. Against this background, the research focused on local differences and the role of municipal governments and their capacity to govern socio-economic and political changes. Besides, attention has been paid to the experiences of young people and policy outcomes in terms of redistribution of risks and opportunities. The analysis avails itself of an interpretative approach, a methodology based on the case study and the technique of the interview, and a comparative logic, which puts the differences and the related factors of influence at the centre of the study. After having placed MESPs within the socio-economic and institutional conditions of the two contexts, and given research findings, the thesis focused on the heterogeneity characterising different dimensions of MESPs. These include ideas and values, problems, objectives, measures and tools and outcomes. It highlighted how politics, institutional legacies, localised policy paradigms and governance arrangements interplay to shape specific and diverse local approaches to MESPs, thus affecting the capacity of city governments to govern socio-economic changes and to alter the unequal distribution of risks and opportunities for participants.
BIFULCO, LAVINIA
GARCIA, MARIA SOLEDAD
politiche urbane; governance; attivazione; imprenditorialità; giovani
urban policies; governance; activation; entrepreneurship; giovani
SPS/07 - SOCIOLOGIA GENERALE
English
25-lug-2019
URBEUR_QUASI, CITTA' E SOCIETA' DELL'INFORMAZIONE - 83R
31
2017/2018
UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA - UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA
open
(2019). Active Cities for Activation Policies. Entrepreneurship support and young people in Milan and Barcelona. (Tesi di dottorato, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2019).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/241267
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