Abstract # 6

Blossfeld, Hans-Peter. Globalization, social inequality and the role of country-specific institutions. Open research questions in a learning society. In: Globalife Working Paper Series, No. 11, Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld (2000). To appear in: Pedro Conceicao, Manual V. Heitor, and Bengt-Aake Lundvall (Eds.), Towards a learning society: innovation and competence building with social cohesion for Europe. Lisbon (forthcoming).

This paper (to appear as a chapter in an edited volume by Pedro Conceicao, Manual V. Heitor, and Bengt-Aake Lundvall, Towards a learning society: innovation and competence building with social cohesion for Europe) describes effects of the growing pace of social and economic change on the life course of people in various countries and formulates some open research and policy questions. The paper focuses in particular on the interaction of the globalization process with country-specific institutions. The main message of this research is that the globalization process will not lead to more similarity among modern societies, at least not in the near future.