Prof. Dr. Lucio Baccaro
Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG)
On March 29, 2026, the political economist Lucio Baccaro celebrated his sixtieth birthday. His research at the intersection of international and comparative political economy has had a lasting impact on academic discourse. The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne will honor its director with an academic conference on May 22, which will reflect on his work to date in the fields of industrial relations, governance, and growth models.
Research Interests
- Comparative political economy
- Comparative employment relations
- Comparative labor movements
- International worker rights & global justice
- Participatory and deliberative governance
- Economic sociology
- Political sociology
Vita
Professional Background
| since 09/2017 | Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies |
| 09/2025-08/2026 |
Sabbatical
University of Bari Aldo Moro, Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche |
| 02/2024 |
Visiting Professor
Department of Social and Political Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano |
| 01/2009–07/2020 | Full Professor of Macrosociology Department of Sociology, Geneva School of Social Sciences, University of Geneva (Deputy Dean in charge of research 2016–2020) |
| Spring 2015 | Visiting Professor Collegio Carlo Alberto, University of Turin |
| Fall 2010 |
Visiting Professor Institute of Economic Sociology, University of Vienna |
| 01/2006–12/2008 | Maurice F. Strong Career Development Assistant Professor Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA (on leave fall 2007 and spring 2008 at the International Institute for Labour Studies, where Baccaro was a Senior Quantitative Economist promoted to Associate Professor [without tenure] in the fall of 2008) |
| 02/2004–12/2005 |
Head of Research (interim) International Institute for Labour Studies, International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva |
| 01/2003–01/2004 | Research and Policy Development Specialist for the in-focus programme on social dialogue, labor law and labor administration International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva |
| 05/2000–12/2003 | Senior Research Officer International Institute for Labour Studies, International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva |
| 08/2002–09/2002 | Visiting Researcher Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne |
| 07/1998–07/2001 | Assistant Professor (tenure-track) of labor and human resource policy Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland/OH (on leave 2000–2001) |
| 1994–1998 | Instructor in the area of industrial relations and human resource management Stoa' (IRI-MIT joint venture), Ercolano |
| 1993–1996 | Research and Teaching Assistant in industrial relations and political economy Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA Adviser: Prof. Richard Locke (Duties: research assistant on a variety of research projects leading to jointly-authored papers; teaching assistant for the course Managing People and Organizations in a Changing World Economy) |
| 1991–1992 | Research Assistant in industrial relations and employment policy Stoa' (IRI-MIT joint venture), Ercolano, Italy Adviser: Prof. Tiziano Treu (Duties: coordinated a group of international scholars studying the relationship between industrial restructuring and industrial relations in the European steel industry) |
Education and Degrees
| 09/1993–02/1999 | PhD in Management and Political Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA Research fields: political economy, social theory, industrial relations |
| 01/1993–07/1997 |
Doctorate in Labor Law and Industrial Relations University of Pavia |
| 06/1996–07/1997 |
Visiting Scholar Istituto di Ricerche Economiche e Sociali (IHRES), Rome |
| 09/1992–05/1993 | Visiting Scholar Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA |
| 01/1990–04/1991 | Master of Business Administration Stoa' (IRI-MIT joint venture), Ercolano |
| 11/1984–07/1989 |
Laurea in Philosophy, summa cum laude University "La Sapienza", Rome |
Fellowships, Awards, and Honors
| 2023 | Honorary Professor University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Social Sciences |
| 2020 | Professeur honoraire University of Geneva |
| 2015 | Scholar in Residence Fellowship Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne |
| 2011 | International Geneva Award for the paper Pathology of Path Dependency? The ILO and the Challenge of "New Governance" Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS), Geneva (CHF 5,000) |
| 2006–2009 | Maurice F. Strong Career Development Chair Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA |
| 2003 | 2002 Outstanding Young Scholar Award Industrial Relations Research Association (IRRA), Champaign/IL |
| 2001 | Recipient of the Year 2000 Founder's Prize for the paper Negotiating Pension Reform with the Unions Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) |
| 1999 | Summer Research Grant Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland/OH (6,000 USD) |
| 1997 | International Dissertation Field Research Fellowship Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and American Council of Learned Societies, Brooklyn/NY (15,000 USD) |
| 1997 | Field Research Grant Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA (3,000 USD) |
| 1996 | Graduate Dissertation Research Fellowship Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge/MA (20,000 USD) |
| 1996 | Field Research Grant Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA, and Istituto per il Commercio Estero, Italy’s Foreign Trade Institute, Rome (4,000 USD) |
| 1995–1996 | Yung Chen Memorial Fellowship Award Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA (13,400 USD) |
| 1993–1995 | Full Graduate Fellowship Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA (full tuition and stipend) |
| 1994 | Field Research Grant Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA, USA, and Istituto per il Commercio Estero, Italy’s Foreign Trade Institute, Rome (4,000 USD) |
| 1990–1991 | Full Graduate Fellowship Stoa', Ercolano (full tuition and stipend) |
| 1984–1989 | Residenza Universitaria "Lamaro-Pozzani" Rome (full undergraduate fellowship) |
| 1984 | Alfiere del Lavoro (awarded annually by the President of the Italian Republic to the top 25 high school graduates in the country) |
Grants
| 2016 | Post-Fordist Growth Models in European Political Economies Co-Principal Investigator with Jonas Pontusson (CHF 575,219) |
| 2014 | Employment Effects of Different Policy Instruments Co-Principal Investigator with Thomas Cottier Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Berne (CHF 1,959,540; 36 months) |
| 2012 | Understanding the Process of Deliberation: The Role of Facilitators, Content Themes, and Discursive Networks Principal Investigator Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Berne (CHF 172,874; 18 months) |
| 2012 | Liberalization: A Proposal for the Creation of an International Database Co-Principal Investigator with Klaus Armingeon Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Berne (CHF 489,395; 36 months) |
| 2011 | Impact of Globalization on Opportunities for Human Development Co-Principal Investigator with Jaya Krishakumar Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS), Geneva (CHF 162,884; 24 months) |
| 2010 | Deliberation, Discourse Quality and Attitude Change: A Proposal for a Field Experiment Principal Investigator Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Berne (CHF 304,612; 24 months) |
| 2003 | Social Dialogue Regimes: Worker Rights, Collective Bargaining, and Negotiated Policy Making in Developed and Developing Countries Principal Investigator International Academic Network (GIAN), Geneva (CHF 248,800; 24 months) |
Institutional Affiliations
| since 2009 | Member of the European Sociological Association |
| since 2004 | Member of the Swiss Political Science Association |
| since 2000 | Member of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) |
| since 1999 | Member of the International Industrial Relations Association |
| since 1996 | Member of the American Political Science Association |
Professional Service
| since 2017 | Executive Council, before Co-coordinator (2007–2017) Industrial Relations and Political Economy Network, Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) |
| 2012–2017 | Member of FA ID/Sinergia panels Swiss National Science Foundation |
| 2013–2016 | Associate Editor British Journal of Industrial Relations |
| 2009–2014 | Executive Board Member Industrial Relations, Work, and Employment Network, European Sociological Association |
| 2002–2011 | Executive Council Member Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) |
| current | Board Member Social Forces; Italian Political Science Review; Stato e Mercato; Quaderni di Rassegna Sindacale; Swiss Journal of Sociology; British Journal of Industrial Relations; Economie et statistique |