In social science, the buzzword is interdisciplinarity
Today the social sciences are called to a very important task: finding the answers to the global challenges that the citizens of the whole world are facing: the increase in economic inequality, the increase in the number of autocracies and countries with illiberal democracies, the aging of the world population. To do this, a scientific approach is needed which, by leveraging the knowledge specific to each discipline (demography, economics, political science, sociology, history), is capable of proposing an overall vision which integrates the various kinds of knowledge through an interdisciplinary methodology. This interdisciplinary approach is actually facilitated by the great changes that have taken place in the scientific world: the diffusion and use of big data, the incredible advance in computational capabilities, the development of artificial intelligence. «Data has become the common language across the various disciplines, as fundamental for analyzing reality, and the social and political sciences have become more empirical, more data-driven. It is around this empirical approach that academics coming from different backgrounds can come together to answer global questions, with a policy-oriented approach, i.e. aimed at proposing actual measures and concrete solutions», explains Vincenzo Galasso, Director of the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Bocconi University.
There has been a shift from a kind of scientific research guided by a theory which was too often abstract or purely descriptive to the possibility of studying the surrounding world starting from the observation of data. This has made it possible to identify links and interconnections between apparently distant phenomena, such as globalization and the spread of populism, or automation and fertility, or between societal aging and technological innovation.
«In short, we have gone from multidisciplinarity to interdisciplinarity», emphasizes Prof Galasso. «That's why our Department has opened to different disciplines, from epidemiology to demography, which share a quantitative methodology in research. Starting next year, the first projects will start. The funds of the Department will be allocated to various work teams of researchers from different disciplines».
What remains of the old social science?
Social and political sciences were previously set up more as narrative, qualitative, descriptive or normative theories. They produced mainly theoretical models that were often difficult to test. The transformation into more empirical and interdisciplinary sciences is certainly underway in the international arena. At Bocconi, political science immediately started developing a quantitative approach, as also confirmed by our Bachelor in International Politics and Government and our Master of Science in Politics and Policy Analysis. These programs are born from the idea that reality is not segmented into academic disciplines, that it is necessary to know how to read data through the magnifying glass of every kind of social scientist, from the economic historian to the welfare expert, to see the world as a multifaceted but organic whole.
What are the disadvantages of an interdisciplinary approach?
Academics are asked to publish their studies in international scientific journals and is often easier to get them published in single-discipline periodicals. Publishing in top journals is never easy, but interdisciplinary research projects are likely to find it even harder. From Nature to Science, just to mention the best-known scientific journals, there is no shortage of examples of interdisciplinarity, which however require an additional effort, but above all a greater risk for one's career which can put off younger academics, i.e. those who have not yet gotten tenure.
How do you avoid the trap of seeing a segmented reality?
It is not easy. Let us consider the issue of population ageing. Bocconi is the leader of a spoke of the Age-IT project, an extended partnership funded under the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) which aims to analyze the consequences of aging and respond to Italy's demographic challenge. The structure of this project, which brings together 25 universities, institutions and research centers and over 300 researchers, shows how the phenomenon should be observed from many points of view: from the perspective of social sciences, of medical sciences and, last but not least, by looking at new digital technologies. Bocconi University is the leader of the spoke on political demography which, in turn, ranges from normative aspects in intergenerational equity, to issues of diversity in ageing, to the analysis of electoral demographics, to the generational effects on welfare. Because an aging electorate constitutes the greatest political constraint for policymakers who have to decide on pension policies.
Electoral campaigns are opportunities to carry out analyses in the field. Does it still happen?
Electoral campaigns are important opportunities to carry out field experiments. Through the use of a treatment group (for example a group of cities whose voters are subjected to a type of electoral information) and a control group (voters of cities are not exposed to that information) it is possible to establish the influence that a type of information has for example on voter turnout, following the Get-Out-The-Vote literature that has developed in the United States. This methodology requires an important effort in the scientific design of the experiment, but also in the management of privacy and other ethical aspects (such as the sensitive information asked from the people potentially interviewed). But also elections allow us to make other quantitative analysese. Through the use of electoral data, it is possible to study how the selection of politicians is influenced by the level of political competition in an electoral district.
Which of the various global questions or challenges is the most difficult?
In Italy, certainly the one concerning the future of young people. This is a debate that does not attract the same attention as other major global challenges. In Italy there are over 3 million youngsters who are NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training), thus do not study, do not follow training courses, or are looking for a job. Many young people do not feel involved in society and go to the electoral polls in lower percentages than older voters. Perhaps we should consider young people as a minority that needs to be constitutionally protected. A simple intergenerational tax rule could be adopted: for every euro spent on programs for senior citizens over 65, one euro must also be allocated to policies dedicated to young people under 30.