This dissertation explores the flexibilisation of the high-skilled labour force. Traditional labour market segmentation theories, such as the routine-biased technological change (RBTC) and skill-biased technological change (SBTC) theories, strongly diverge in their predictions of the employment conditions for the lower end of the skill distribution. However, they all converge regarding high-skilled workers. Specifically, they assume that, given the crucial role of human capital in the transition to the knowledge economy, workers with a college education possess substantial bargaining power in individual negotiations with employers, enabling them to secure stable employment arrangements. This PhD dissertation challenges this assumption of empowerment of the high-skilled labour force in the knowledge economy. Over the last two decades, high-skilled workers have increasingly engaged in flexible work arrangements in several European economies, particularly through temporary employment and solo self-employment.
This research aims to investigate the origins of the increasing prevalence of flexible work arrangements among high-skilled workers, as well as the consequences of this phenomenon on welfare state institutions in several European economies in the last two decades. In Paper 1, using a longitudinal fixed-e_ects regression analysis, I provide empirical evidence indicating that the formation of a surplus of high-skilled workers in the labour market is positively and significantly associated with the rising prevalence of temporary employment and solo self-employment within this segment of the labour force across several European economies over the past decade. The analysis further suggests that, in these countries, firms engaged in the knowledge economy have undertaken organisational changes, namely a shift to project-based network organisation, which contribute to these labour market transformations.
In Papers 2 and 3, I argue that the flexibilisation of high-skilled workers in several economies has been accompanied by institutional changes in welfare states. By examining changes in social insurance and continuing vocational education and training (CVET) schemes, I provide empirical evidence suggesting that the flexibilisation of high-skilled workers has influenced the adoption of welfare reforms through shifts in the interests of political actors in both the electoral and producer group arenas. Specifically, in Paper 2, I trace the process of institutional changes in Spain, Italy, Finland, and Sweden, presenting empirical evidence that the rise in solo self-employment among high-skilled workers has shaped the interests of unions, as well as centre-left and centre-right parties, to advocate for improved social protection for the self-employed. In Paper 3, based on a case study of France and Germany, my co-author and I provide empirical evidence that the increasing prevalence of temporary employment and self-employment among high-skilled workers has influenced unions’ and political parties’ preferences in the CVET area, particularly toward the individualization of training rights, which resulted in the adoption of several reforms in this direction.
Maxime Borg joined the London School of Economics (LSE) as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2024 after submitting his thesis. His work lies in the comparative political economy of welfare states and labour markets. His PhD dissertation investigates the increasing prevalence of precarious employment among high-skilled workers and its impacts on the welfare states in Europe. His research combines statistical analysis with case study approaches. Current topics include:
- The politics of social policies for platform workers
- The historical political economy of self-employment
- The distributional effects of the knowledge economy in the labour market
Prior to joining the LSE, he held teaching positions at Sorbonne Nouvelle University and Lyon 2 University and was a visiting scholar at Sciences Po and the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated in Public Policy from Sciences Po Lyon and the College of Europe, and in Political Economy from the London School of Economics. He also gained experience in applied research at the polling institute Verian and the think tank Kantar Centre for the Future of Europe.