Fudan-LSE Lecture Series No.71

Title: 

From Digital to Datafied Welfare States: The Changing Welfare Governance in the Era of Algorithmic Systems

Speaker: 

Prof. Minna van Gerven, University of Helsinki, Finland

Host: 

Prof. Yijia Jing, Fudan IGPP

Discussant: 

Dr. Lijianan Zhang, Fudan IGPP

Co-organizer: 

Nordic Centre at Fudan University

Time: 

12:00-13:20, April 22, Tuesday, 2025

Venue: 

Room 805E, 8th Floor, West Sub-building of Guanghua Towers

https://www.wjx.cn/vm/ebsOkpF.aspx#

The Speaker：

Minna van Gerven is professor of Social Policy at the University of Helsinki, Finland. She specializes in social policy transformation, digitalization of public administration and comparative welfare state research. Her work has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of European Social Policy, Social Policy & Administration and Policy & Politics. She has contributed to edited volumes (as author and editor) with prestigious publishing houses, such as Edward Elgar, Routledge and de Gruyter. Her research recently focuses on the role of technology in welfare systems, with particular interest in how automation, AI and digital tools shape public service delivery. She has led several international research projects, including the Strategic Research Council (of Finland) funded REPAIR project which analyses the impact of digitalization on social security administration.

Abstract:

In the recent decades, public administrations worldwide have undergone a significant transformation driven by digitalisation, automation and datafication. Governments have invested in digital infrastructures and tools to enhance efficiency of their operations and to improve decision-making. This shift has led to an increasing reliance on data, fundamentally reshaping welfare governance. As welfare states move from digitalisation to datafication, the role of algorithmic systems in public services is also expanding. Automated decision-making and predictive analytics have become part of eligibility assessment and policy implementation. This lecture explores the evolving governance of datafied welfare states, analysing how algorithmic system change welfare governance. By examining public employment services as a case, we will assess the opportunities and risks of data-driven future of welfare governance.