The book "Contested Welfare States: Welfare Attitudes in Europe and Beyond" by Stefan Svallfors analyses the results of a broad research program on attitudes towards welfare policies across European countries. In eight chapters, the relationship between individual-level and country-level variables and their impact on attitudes toward and evaluations of welfare policies is explored.
There are six research projects included in the book. Five of them focus on the European case, while the last one points out differences in welfare state attitudes between Europe and the United States. A comparative analysis can be conducted because cross-national data on attitudes towards the welfare state have recently become available. All of the research projects in the book are based on the module Welfare Attitudes in a Changing Europe of the 2008 European Social Survey. It is assumed that the data is comparable because the questionnaire, although translated into the local language, is the same for all participating countries.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction: The Political Economy of Welfare State Attitudes
- Perceived Welfare State Performance and Attitudes: A Multilevel Analysis
- Perceived Risks, Welfare State Dependence and Support for Welfare State Responsibility
- Societal Norms and Attitudes Towards Welfare State Responsibilities: A Cross-National Study
- Migration, Welfare State Attitudes and the Effects of Cultural Diversity
- Class, Age and Attitudes towards Government Responsibility
- Welfare Attitudes in Europe and the United States: A Comparative Study
- Conclusion: The Contested Welfare State and the Future of Social Policy
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
The book 'Contested Welfare States: Welfare Attitudes in Europe and Beyond' analyzes the relationship between individual-level and country-level variables and their impact on attitudes toward and evaluations of welfare policies across European countries. The book aims to understand how factors such as socioeconomic background, threat perceptions, social values, personal experiences, and institutional frameworks influence citizens' support for the welfare state.
- The influence of individual-level factors, such as socioeconomic background, threat perceptions, social values, and personal experiences, on welfare state attitudes.
- The role of institutional frameworks and national contexts in shaping welfare state attitudes.
- The impact of perceived welfare state performance and dependency on citizens' support for welfare policies.
- The relationship between societal norms and values, such as egalitarianism, authoritarianism, and ethnocentrism, and attitudes towards the welfare state.
- The comparative analysis of welfare state attitudes across European countries and the United States.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: The Political Economy of Welfare State Attitudes: This chapter introduces the book's main research questions and the theoretical framework underpinning the analysis. It defines the concept of welfare state attitudes and highlights the significance of understanding these attitudes for the legitimacy of the welfare state.
- Perceived Welfare State Performance and Attitudes: A Multilevel Analysis: This chapter examines the relationship between perceived welfare state performance and public support for the welfare state. The authors demonstrate that perceived performance acts as a mediator between actual welfare performance and public support, with differences in support depending on the groups who benefit from welfare state programs.
- Perceived Risks, Welfare State Dependence and Support for Welfare State Responsibility: This chapter analyzes the opinions on welfare state responsibilities among groups at greater risk of becoming dependent on the welfare state. The authors find that perceptions of future risks significantly influence attitudes toward the welfare state, particularly among high-risk groups.
- Societal Norms and Attitudes Towards Welfare State Responsibilities: A Cross-National Study: This chapter investigates the influence of societal norms on citizens' welfare state support. The authors identify four key normative conceptions: authoritarianism, distrust, ethnocentrism, and egalitarianism, and demonstrate how these beliefs moderate the relationship between social position and welfare attitudes.
- Migration, Welfare State Attitudes and the Effects of Cultural Diversity: This chapter examines European attitudes towards the inclusion or exclusion of foreigners in the welfare state. The authors find that workers' attitudes are influenced by fear of low-wage competition from migrants.
- Class, Age and Attitudes towards Government Responsibility: This chapter explores the influence of class and age on attitudes toward government responsibility. The authors propose a theoretical model where risk perceptions and individual beliefs mediate the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and attitudes towards government interventions.
- Welfare Attitudes in Europe and the United States: A Comparative Study: This chapter compares European findings on welfare attitudes with those from the United States. The authors utilize survey-embedded experiments to analyze framing effects on welfare attitudes, revealing differences in attitudes towards government responsibility between the two regions.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The book focuses on the political economy of welfare state transformations, employing comparative institutional analysis to understand welfare state attitudes in Europe and beyond. Key themes include welfare state performance, individual-level factors, institutional frameworks, societal norms, cultural diversity, and comparative analysis across different countries.
- Quote paper
- Hannes Oswald (Author), 2022, Review of Stefan Svallfors "Contested Welfare States: Welfare Attitudes in Europe and Beyond", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1321826
