In sociological research on inequality, globalization has been a central focus for over a decade now. Nevertheless, globalization’s effects on intra-national, international, and interregional social inequality remain highly contested. At the upcoming ISA-RC02 Midterm Conference in Neuchâtel, researchers will have the opportunity to discuss the current state of the debates and to contrast them with recent research on the distributional effects of economic change in general. The conference is intended to both create an open forum for current economic sociology and condense the findings of this discipline. The conference organizers invite abstracts related to the following topics:

Influence of economic transformations and related institutional changes on inequality

How is the production and reproduction of inequality influenced by economic transformations and related institutional changes?

• Is globalization the sole cause for rises in social inequality, or are there other concepts of similar centrality that may explain the contribution of current economic change to social inequality? 
• How and to what extent are the restructuring of firms and the increasing demands for flexibility, induced by economic change, contributing to social inequalities? 
• Are the current processes unique in history or can similar patterns be found in historical comparison?

Change and persistence of inequality structures

How and why do patterns of inequality change? Which dimensions of and cleavages related to inequality are persistent (income, wealth, educational and occupational status, gender, ethnicity, region, class, etc.)? What new socially relevant goods emerge, and to what extent do they constitute new dimensions of inequality or reinforce existing ones?

• To what extent, for example, is the rising influence of networks related to economic change, and to what extent does uneven access to networks affect changing social inequalities? 
• Can we observe changes or persistence in the centrality of specific dimensions of inequality or in the relations between them? 
• How do inequality dynamics and their causes differ between and within world regions – for example, Asia and Latin America?

Actors and evolving institutional reactions

How do social actors (individuals, institutions, movements) and systems behave with regard to economic change and social inequality?

• Which actors drive economic change, and how do they do it? 
• How do states, international organizations, civil society actors and individuals oppose and counterbalance inequalities? 
• Have either nation-states or international organizations regained any control over the impact of economic change on inequalities (e.g., by reshaping the welfare state)?
• What roles do local governance or social institutions such as educational and health systems play in this field?

Deadline and form of proposals: Participants are invited to present abstract proposals of no more than 300 words. Proposals must be sent by e-mail (iNEquality08@unine.ch) before January 31st, 2008. Notification of acceptance or refusal of abstracts will be given before February 15th, 2008.

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