This report explores to what extent different factors have an influence on the support for a basic income scheme in the European Union, focussing on Germany, Poland and Sweden. These factors focussed on in this report are a left/right scale on which respondents place themselves, whether respondents have enough money for household necessities and if the respondents are satisfied with the current state of the economy.
As formulated in the hypotheses, it is expected that ‘more left’ people, people with not enough money, and people with a more negative perception of the economy’s state are more in favour of a basic income scheme. The last hypothesis compares the data of the three countries to see which country has the biggest effect on the support for a basic income scheme for the factor of enough money for household necessities. T
These relationships are explored via the use of SPSS and the data of ESS8 is provided by the University of Twente. These relationships are tested via bivariate and multiple regression analyses in SPSS. Through this analysis, it was found that Germany and Sweden are in line with the formed hypotheses, whereas the analysis of Poland provided insignificant results for two hypotheses.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theory and Hypotheses
3. Data and Operationalization
4. Analysis and Results
5. Conclusion and Discussion
6. References
Research Objectives and Themes
This research aims to identify the key factors influencing individual support for a universal basic income scheme within different welfare systems. By comparing Germany, Poland, and Sweden, the study investigates how political orientation, economic satisfaction, and personal financial security shape public opinion on basic income policies in the face of technological change and automation.
- Analysis of the relationship between political left-right positions and welfare support.
- Evaluation of personal financial security as a predictor for basic income approval.
- Comparison of three distinct European welfare state models: conservative, socialist, and emerging systems.
- Impact of perceived economic performance on national attitudes toward basic income.
- Statistical assessment using European Social Survey (ESS) data.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
What does the perfect society look like to you? This is a question that has been discussed widely all across the educational spectrum – philosophers, political scientists, economists and law scientists are all equally interested in the answer. Most people agree that a perfect society can never become reality, simply because there are too many obstacles and the perfect society looks different to everybody, but there are many people who have written about their ‘utopia’.
Utopia is the word commonly associated with this perfect imaginary world (The British Library Board) and it – or its counterpart dystopia – has been written about often. The term ‘utopia’ is based on the works of Sir Thomas More, who was the first person to write about his idea of a perfect society (The British Library Board). More’s ideal world was located on the island of Utopia, a small and comfortable community with 54 cities across the island. One of the main characteristics of society was that there was no poverty anywhere. More did not imagine a completely equal or communist society, but he did introduce the idea that a society as a whole was in a better shape, if every member was taken care for. He stipulated that the state should look after its citizens by providing a certain small sum of money for everybody to prevent theft among citizens (BIEN, n.d.).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter contextualizes the concept of a universal basic income within the history of utopian thought and discusses its modern relevance due to technological automation.
2. Theory and Hypotheses: This section provides a conceptual definition of basic income and derives four specific hypotheses regarding how political stance, financial need, and economic satisfaction influence support for the scheme.
3. Data and Operationalization: This chapter outlines the research methodology, describing the use of the European Social Survey (ESS8) data and the statistical coding of independent and dependent variables for the selected countries.
4. Analysis and Results: This part presents the empirical findings derived from bivariate and multivariate regression models, testing the validity of the proposed hypotheses across Germany, Poland, and Sweden.
5. Conclusion and Discussion: This final chapter synthesizes the results, addresses the limitations of the study, and suggests potential reasons for cross-national differences in support for basic income.
6. References: A comprehensive list of academic sources, literature, and datasets cited throughout the research.
Keywords
Basic income scheme, welfare preferences, political left-right scale, state of economy, insufficient income, comparative study, European Social Survey, ESS8, welfare systems, social security, Germany, Poland, Sweden, statistical analysis, SPSS.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The study examines the factors that influence public support for a universal basic income scheme in three distinct European countries: Germany, Poland, and Sweden.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The research explores the intersection of political ideology, personal economic security, and national economic perception within the context of varying welfare state models.
What is the primary research question?
The study asks to what extent an individual's political position on a left-right scale, their financial outlook for household necessities, and their satisfaction with the national economy affect their support for a basic income scheme.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The researcher uses quantitative statistical analysis, specifically conducting bivariate and multiple regression models using SPSS software on data from the European Social Survey (ESS8).
What is covered in the main body of the paper?
The main body includes a theoretical framework with hypothesis generation, a detailed explanation of the data and variable operationalization, and a thorough analysis of the statistical results.
How would you describe the key characteristics of this study?
It is a comparative, empirical study that evaluates the robustness of specific socio-economic predictors across three different national welfare system contexts.
How does the Polish welfare system differ in this study?
Poland is highlighted as an interesting case due to its distinct welfare state structure, where welfare activities are often carried out by local or non-state actors, unlike the more centralized systems in Germany or Sweden.
Why did the author choose to use a 'most-different-system' design?
The choice allowed the researcher to test the applicability of welfare attitudes across countries with significantly different historical and structural approaches to social security.
What were the main findings regarding the fourth hypothesis?
The findings indicated that the effect of financial insecurity on support for a basic income is stronger for Swedish respondents compared to their German and Polish counterparts.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2020, Predictors of Welfare Attitudes. A Comparative Study on Germany, Poland and Sweden, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/945201
