Devonshire pool

Munk School International Institute on Social Policy

Munk School International Institute on Social Policy

Social Policy in Unsettled Times

October 24 – 25, 2024

On October 24-25, 2024, the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto will host the 27th annual International Institute on Social Policy: Social Policy in Unsettled Times. We are proud to be the new home of the Institute, and to continue the long and proud tradition of Canada’s premier social policy conference as established by our colleagues at Queen’s University.

We live in a swirling confluence of social, economic, cultural and ecological forces. Inflation has led to sharp increases in the cost of key fundamentals of life – housing, food, energy. Technological change, epitomised by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, disrupts established communities and ways of living. People are also alert to other disruptions – climate impacts, migration pressures, and geopolitical threats — all of which can contribute to a sense of unease and insecurity in their own lives. While none of these trends is new, what seems different is the speed with which they are occurring. The Munk School is bringing together leading international and Canadian experts to ask: What is the role of social policy in this context? In each session we will consider how Canada compares to other countries, and what can be learned from international experience.

Registration banner

Conference speakers and moderators

headshot of Catherine Adam
 

Catherine Adam

Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development Canada, Government of Canada

Headshot of Michael Donnelly
 

Michael Donnelly

Associate Professor, Political Science and Munk School, and Director, Professional Master's Programs, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

Headshot of Kelly Foley
 

Kelly Foley

Associate Professor, Economics, University of Saskatchewan

headshot of Carol Graham
 

Carol Graham

Senior Fellow, Economics, Brookings Institution and College Park Professor, University of Maryland

headshot Josh Hjartarson
 

Josh Hjartarson

Global Leader for the Human and Social Services, Deloitte Inc., and National Leader for the Human and Social Services, Deloitte Canada

headshot of Alan M. Jacobs
 

Alan M. Jacobs

Head of Department and Professor, Political Science, University of British Columbia

Headshot of Dr. Arif Jehta
 

Arif Jehta

Associate Scientific Director and Scientist, Institute for Work & Health and Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

headshot of Andrew Parkin
 

Andrew Parkin

Executive Director, Environics Institute

headshot of Ito Peng
 

Ito Peng

Director, Centre for Global Social Policy and Professor, Department of Sociology and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

Headshot of Michael Moffatt
 

Michael Moffatt

Senior Director of Policy and Innovation, Smart Prosperity Institute and Assistant Professor, Ivey Business School, Western University

headshot of Karen Myers
 

Karen Myers

President and CEO, Blueprint

Headshot of Jennifer Robson
 

Jennifer Robson

Associate Professor, Political Management, Carleton University

Stefano Scarpetta
 

Stefano Scarpetta

Director, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD

headshot of Luke Shaefer
 

Luke Shaefer

Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy and Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan

headshot of Arjumand Siddiqi
 

Arjumand Siddiqi

Canada Research Chair in Population Health Equity and Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

Headshot of Anita Stellinga
 

Anita Stellinga

Vice President, Corporate Communications & Public Policy and Corporate Secretary, United Way Greater Toronto

headshot of Michael Stepner
 

Michael Stepner

Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Toronto and Research Principal at Opportunity Insights, Harvard University

Headshot of Paul Thompson
 

Paul Thompson

Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development Canada, Government of Canada

Headshot of Carolyn Tuohy
 

Carolyn Hughes Tuohy

Professor Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow, Department of Political Science and Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto

Headshot of Christopher T. Wilmer
 

Christopher T. Wimer

Senior Research Scientist, Columbia Population Research Center, and a co-Director, Center on Poverty and Social Policy, School of Social Work, Columbia University

headshot of Nathan Wilmers
 

Nathan Wilmers

Sarofim Family Career Development Associate Professor and Associate Professor of Work and Organization Studies, MIT Sloan School of Management

Headshot of Daniyal Zuberi
 

Daniyal Zuberi

Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

Welcome Reception and Opening Keynote
Thursday, October 24, 2024

Campbell Conference Facility, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, ON

Welcome Reception and Opening Keynote (7:00pm)

Hope, Despair, and Divided Futures in America and Beyond:

Can Wellbeing Science Save us from Despair?

Much attention has been paid to the despair that has been wrought by the disruptive social and economic changes of the past few decades. But less attention has been paid to its inverse: the essential role of hope in engendering resilience in both individuals and communities. Carol Graham brings the tools of economics together with a close exploration of reported experience to addressing the “power of hope” and the role of social policy in providing the resources to support and sustain confidence that a belief that “one can make one’s life better."

Carol Graham, Senior Fellow, Economics, Brookings Institution and College Park Professor at the University of Maryland

Moderator: Dan ZuberiProfessor of Social Policy, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

followed by a reception 

Conference Agenda:
Friday, October 25, 2024

Campbell Conference Facility, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, ON

Download the Full Conference Program 

Session 1: Overview Unsettled times: what role for social policy? Tracking well-being across nations and time (8:30am - 10:00am)

Well-being and Social Protection in Times of Change

  • Stefano Scarpetta, Director, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD

Inequality in Canada Across (Multiple) Unsettled Times

  • Kelly Foley, Associate Professor, Economics, University of Saskatchewan

The Public Outlook in “Unsettled Times”

  • Andrew Parkin, Executive Director, Environics Institute

Moderator: Paul Thompson, Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development Canada

 
Session 2: Supporting the home (10:00am - 11:15am)

No Country for Young Children

  • Mike Moffatt, Senior Director of Policy and Innovation, Smart Prosperity Institute and Assistant Professor, Ivey Business School, Western University

It’s Time to Think More Seriously About the Care Economy

  • Ito Peng, Director, Centre for Global Social Policy and Professor, Department of Sociology and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

Long-term Trends, Recent Policy Developments, and Poverty Among Families with Children in the United States

  • Christopher T. Wimer, Co-Director, Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University

Moderator: Catherine Adam, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development Canada

Session 3: Supporting pathways through the new world of work (11:30am - 12:45pm)

Adjusting to New Labour Market Realities: Global Trends in Workforce Development Strategy and the Lessons for Canada

  • Josh Hjartarson, Global Leader for the Human and Social Services, Deloitte 

Who Will be Included in the Future of Work? Understanding Labour Market Trends and Emerging Inequities

  • Arif Jehta, Associate Scientific Director and Scientist, Institute for Work & Health and Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

After Inequality: Policy Lessons from Recent US Wage Growth

  • Nathan Wilmers, Sarofim Family Career Development Associate Professor and Associate Professor of Work and Organization Studies, MIT Sloan School of Management

Moderator: Karen Myers, President and CEO, Blueprint

Session 4: Supporting communities (1:45pm - 3:00pm)

Protecting the Health of Children with Child Cash Transfers: Evidence from Around the World and in the United States

  • Luke Shaefer, Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy and Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan

What does the Social and Spatial Distribution of Disadvantage Tell us About Social Policy? Lessons from Social Epidemiological Research

  • Arjumand Siddiqi, Canada Research Chair in Population Health Equity and Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

Where is Our Safety Net? Understanding the Breadth of How Social Policy Shapes Risk and Security

  • Michael Stepner, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Toronto and a Research Principal at Opportunity Insights, Harvard University

Moderator: Anita StellingaVice President, Corporate Communications & Public Policy and Corporate Secretary, United Way of Greater Toronto

Session 5: Making it happen: building social buy-in (3:15pm - 4:45pm)

How Inequality Undermines Collective Provision

  • Alan M. Jacobs, Head of Department and Professor, Political Science, University of British Columbia

Imagine if We Really Wanted People to Use These Things: Rethinking Policy Delivery and Administrative Burdens

  • Jennifer Robson, Associate Professor, Political Management, Carleton University

Social Policy Preferences in Canada

  • Michael Donnelly, Associate Professor, Political Science and Munk School, and Director, Professional Master's Programs, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

Moderator: Carolyn TuohyProfessor Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow, Department of Political Science and Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Closing Remarks (4:45pm – 5:00pm)

Summary of the day's proceedings.