Alexandre Afonso is a lecturer in the Department of Political Economy at King's College London. His main field of research is comparative political economy with a focus on welfare state and labour market reforms, the political economy of labour migration, and the role of organised interests in policy reforms. His book, "Social Concertation in Times of Austerity" was published by Amsterdam University Press in 2013. His publications can be found on his website. He occasionally blogs here and tweets @alexandreafonso.