Toon van Overbeke awarded Sabina Avdagic Early Career Scholar Prize for Best Paper in Comparative Capitalism

Toon Van Overbeke, together with Tommaso Crescioli from the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), has received the Sabina Avdagic Early Career Scholar Prize for Best Paper in Comparative Capitalism. The award was presented by the Comparative Capitalisms Network of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) and recognises outstanding research by early-career scholars in comparative political economy.

Their paper, Rising Market Power and its Political Discontents, examines how the growing market power of large multinational companies is reshaping European democracies. As industries become increasingly dominated by a small number of large firms, many micro-businesses face declining economic opportunities. The researchers argue that these developments do not only have economic consequences, but also political ones.

Using firm-level, individual-level and regional data from fourteen European countries, the study investigates how rising market concentration affects the economic performance of small businesses and, in turn, influences political behaviour. The findings show that increasing market concentration is associated with the declining economic position of micro-firms. This loss of economic security is linked to lower trust in democratic institutions and markets, making small business owners more likely to turn away from incumbent parties and support radical-right parties. By connecting changes in market structures to electoral behaviour, the paper offers a new perspective on an important political development across Europe.

The prize committee praised the paper for its originality, theoretical contribution and ambitious research design. Drawing on historical firm data, individual survey data and constituency-level election results, the researchers combined multiple sources of evidence into a single analysis. According to the committee, the paper opens up a new way of understanding political divisions within the business community by showing how economic changes among small business owners can shape electoral outcomes.

The Sabina Avdagic Early Career Scholar Prize was established in memory of Dr Sabina Avdagic, Associate Professor in Political Economy at the University of Sussex. The award honours her influential contributions to the study of labour markets, welfare states and comparative political economy, while recognising exceptional work by the next generation of scholars. It also reflects her longstanding commitment to mentoring and supporting early-career researchers.