NOVA researcher Morten Blekesaune claims that people around the world support less governmental provision and economic redistribution when the economy is good, than in periods of economic strain. The attitudes are mostly formed by the economic situation of the society as a whole, and not necessarily the situation each person finds themselves in.
In a new article in European Sociological Review Morten Blekesaune takes a closer look at how economic conditions influence public attitudes to welfare policies.
Can changing economic conditions predict changes in public attitudes towards welfare state policies? More specifically, does public support for governmental provision and economic redistribution increase in periods of economic strain and low employment? This has been a popular hypothesis among political commentators but has been subject of limited empirical scrutiny. The hypothesis is tested using data from three waves of the World Values Survey and fixed effects models at country level following cross-sectional analyses at the level of respondents which control for individual characteristics. The hypothesis is supported by three out of four effects being tested. These effects are largely contextual as individual level compositional effects can only explain a minor part. The results also indicate that the formation of public opinion towards welfare state policies is predictable and rational.
Source:
Blekesaune, M. (2007): Economic conditions and public attitudes to welfare policies. European Sociological Review, 23(3):393-403
For more information, contakt Morten Blekesaune: +47 22 54 13 64 / 00
