This thesis comprises four empirical research papers in the area of political economics. While the first two chapters deal with questions related to direct democracy, chapters three and four are about topics linked to representative democracy.

Intorduction : Theorizing the gendering of the knowledge economy : comparative approaches / Sylvia Walby -- Gender and the conceptualization of the knowledge economy in comparison / Karen Shire -- Comparative livelihood security systems from a gender perspective, with a focus on Japan / Mari...