Education

European University Institute:

PhD in Social and Political Science 2020-2024

Thesis Title: Social Investment in Europe: From Policy Adoption to Design and Implementation

Master of Research in Social and Political Science 2020-2021

University of Edinburgh:

Visiting PhD Researcher 2023

University of Strathclyde:

MSc European Politics (with Distinction) 2019-2020

University of Stirling:

BA with Honours in History and Politics 2009-2013

Carleton Univesity (International Exchange):

BA with Honours in History and Politics 2011-2012

Employment

Freie Universität Berlin

Postdoctoral Researcher

Postdoctoral Researcher on the Fritz Thyssen Foundation funded project “Territorial Inequality in Education”

January 2025 - present

University of Edinburgh

Tutor

Social Policy & Society; Comparative Social Policy: Global Perspectives (undergraduate)

Co-Lecturer

European Social Policy (postgraduate)

Autumn Semester 2024

European University Institute

Research Assistant

Literature review for the ERC and CitiLab research project “Laboratories of Social Investment”

2024

Fieldwork and data transcription for the ERC project “Wellbeing Returns on Social Investment Recalibration” (WellSIre)

2023

Data collection and profile for Sweden and the UK for the EUI project “Post-covid Social Contract”

2020

University of Strathclyde

Research Assistant

Coding political party leader conference speeches for Dr. Zachary Greene

2019

Research Interests

• Comparative Public Policy

• Government and Governance

• Comparative Political Economy

Refereed articles and book chapters

Ballantyne, S. (2025). Questioning National Averages and Explaining Subna- tional Variation in Early Childhood Education and Care Provision in Spain: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2024.2439266

Ballantyne, S., & Mascioli, L. (2024). Spaces of subsidiarity: A comparative inquiry into the social agenda of Cohesion Policy. Social Policy & Administra- tion, 1–16. http://doi.org/10.1111/spol.13006

Book reviews

Ballantyne, S. (2024), The world politics of social investment: Volume II. Julian L. Garritzmann (Ed.), Silja Häusermann (Ed.), Bruno Palier (Ed.), Oxford: Ox- ford University Press. 2022. £64 (hardback). ISBN: 9780197601457 . Soc Policy Adm, 58: 541-542. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12980

Policy papers

‘Taking Social Investment Seriously in EU Cohesion Policy’ (With Anton Hemerijck, Gemma Scalise and Lorenzo Mascioli). European Commission High Level Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/how/future-cohesion-policy_en