TRANSPOSE (2025 – 2027) – MSCA-COFUND. According to a growing number of scientists, in order to be able to reduce our energy consumption and CO2 emissions quickly enough to contain global rises in temperature below safe limits, we need to transition to post-growth economic systems. TRANSPOSE (TRANsitioning to a POSt-growth welfare statE), aims to answer to what extent and how tightly specific welfare state policy domains are linked to GDP growth and emissions and, by implication, how we can de-couple them. I focus on the institutional arrangements of pension systems and their degree of coupling. The final research objective is to create and disseminate ideal-type models on transitioning from strongly coupled to loosely coupled (or even de-coupled) pension systems. TRANSPOSE is an interdisciplinary, open-science project that seeks to involve relevant stakeholders and researchers during the lifespan of the project. It is part of the Gaia project at Southern Denmark University.

Social care developments in Spain: ECEC policy design and long-term care financialisation (2023 – present). After completing my PhD thesis, I have continued to investigate both the extension and development of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and long-term care, with a focus on the organisation of services and public policy design. On the one hand, I am currently working on the relationship between ECEC policy design and its political economy and political determinants, with a focus on Spain. On the other hand, I am currently investigating the commodification and financiarisation trend in Spanish long-term care services, studying its causes, limits and social impacts and responses.

Social care and the welfare state, PhD thesis (2019 – 2023). My thesis investigated welfare state reforms designed to address social care needs. The guiding research question is: how do public social care services evolve in terms of access, financing, labour conditions, and quality within the context of a residual welfare state? A residual welfare state refers to services provided as a safety net for those lacking alternative provisions. I empirically examine the formal rules and practices within public social care infrastructures for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and Long-Term Care (LTC). In studying the implementation of ECEC services, I find that, despite increased institutionalisation and universalisation in recent decades, selection tactics and means-testing remain essential for ensuring equal access in contexts of limited supply. For LTC, I broaden the concept of the residual welfare state, linking it to the organisation of public services, labour conditions, and service quality.

Social care developments in Spain: ECEC policy design and long-term care financialisation (2023 – present). After completing my PhD thesis, I have continued to investigate both the extension and development of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and long-term care, with a focus on the organisation of services and public policy design. On the one hand, I am currently working on the relationship between ECEC policy design and its political economy and political determinants, with a focus on Spain. On the other hand, I am currently investigating the commodification and financiarisation trend in Spanish long-term care services, studying its causes, limits and social impacts and responses.