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A Research Agenda for Public Attitudes to Welfare
Bringing together contributions from a diverse range of international scholars, A Research Agenda for Public Attitudes to Welfare draws upon past and contemporary research methods used to study citizens’ attitudes to welfare. It highlights the rapidly growing research potential within the field, examining both new and understudied social policies to map out a comprehensive agenda for future research.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
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Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.
Bringing together contributions from a diverse range of international scholars, A Research Agenda for Public Attitudes to Welfare draws upon past and contemporary research methods used to study citizens’ attitudes to welfare. It highlights the rapidly growing research potential within the field, examining both new and understudied social policies to map out a comprehensive agenda for future research.
This essential Research Agenda offers crucial suggestions to broaden the scope of research in the field and expand our knowledge of public attitudes to welfare. Chapters examine support for new social welfare policies such as active labour market policies, Universal Basic Income, and Social Europe, as well as investigating support among understudied subgroups in the population and over the life course. It ultimately emphasizes the importance of applying different analytical and methodological perspectives in order to understand public attitudes to welfare more thoroughly.
Employing a diverse range of data and methods, this informative Research Agenda will benefit scholars of sociology, social policy, political science, and economics seeking to gain insight on public attitudes to welfare and welfare states. It will also be useful to social policy professionals and officials endeavouring to reflect on the progress of research within the field.
Bringing together contributions from a diverse range of international scholars, A Research Agenda for Public Attitudes to Welfare draws upon past and contemporary research methods used to study citizens’ attitudes to welfare. It highlights the rapidly growing research potential within the field, examining both new and understudied social policies to map out a comprehensive agenda for future research.
This essential Research Agenda offers crucial suggestions to broaden the scope of research in the field and expand our knowledge of public attitudes to welfare. Chapters examine support for new social welfare policies such as active labour market policies, Universal Basic Income, and Social Europe, as well as investigating support among understudied subgroups in the population and over the life course. It ultimately emphasizes the importance of applying different analytical and methodological perspectives in order to understand public attitudes to welfare more thoroughly.
Employing a diverse range of data and methods, this informative Research Agenda will benefit scholars of sociology, social policy, political science, and economics seeking to gain insight on public attitudes to welfare and welfare states. It will also be useful to social policy professionals and officials endeavouring to reflect on the progress of research within the field.
Critical Acclaim
‘The book reveals the ideas, methods and aspirations of talented scholars seeking to understand public attitudes towards the welfare state. In their words, building on an unfinished La Sagrada Familia cathedral. In my opinion, the major strength of the book is the non-findings. How losing a job doesn’t matter. How the inflow of migrants doesn’t matter. How early institutions don’t matter. Such knowledge is seldom found in journal articles. The book is also filled with good ideas about better construction methods. Illustrated in a trial-and-error fashion. The use of panel data. The mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. The sensitivity to context. These ideas and suggestions are crucial for anyone wanting to contribute to this scholarly field. The book leaves me with a small puzzle, though. Why do we want to build a cathedral?’
– Christian Albrekt Larsen, Aalborg University, Denmark
‘The institutions of the welfare state, which support millions of people globally, can only function efficiently and effectively when they are considered “just” by the public. It is therefore essential for academics and policymakers to understand how and why public attitudes change and differ cross-nationally in order to comprehend the basis for the legitimacy of our solidarity systems. This interesting and timely book offers a new perspective on innovative approaches to the study of public attitudes to welfare state policies, and individual and contextual level predictors and dynamics. On the basis of an impressive collection of chapters, it makes a significant, new contribution to comparative welfare state research.’
– Birgit Pfau-Effinger, University of Hamburg, Germany
‘The welfare state is a large machine redistributing resources and compensating social risks. This edited volume addresses the quest for welfare state legitimacy by studying social attitudes. It impressively expands our knowledge on welfare state support by researching changes over time and contextual factors as well as scrutinizing understudied fields of social policy.’
– Steffen Mau, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
‘Welfare states change their approach, focus and instruments in response to newly emerging challenges. Therefore, the study of welfare attitudes must constantly innovate to keep us informed about the social legitimacy of the new pathways welfare is taking. This book convincingly presents an innovative agenda for such study. Its empirical chapters exemplify the research lines set out by it, thereby showing the agenda’s highly promising appeal as a guide for future research on public attitudes to welfare.’
– Wim van Oorschot, KU Leuven, Belgium
‘This timely overview of the field points to the wealth of new data-sources and new methods in welfare state attitude research. It makes the case for new applications to consider a broader range of policies and issues, for the expansion of theoretical and explanatory work and identification of the attitudinal triggers which contribute to attitude change and perhaps to a more generous welfare state politics.’
– Peter Taylor-Gooby, University of Kent, UK
– Christian Albrekt Larsen, Aalborg University, Denmark
‘The institutions of the welfare state, which support millions of people globally, can only function efficiently and effectively when they are considered “just” by the public. It is therefore essential for academics and policymakers to understand how and why public attitudes change and differ cross-nationally in order to comprehend the basis for the legitimacy of our solidarity systems. This interesting and timely book offers a new perspective on innovative approaches to the study of public attitudes to welfare state policies, and individual and contextual level predictors and dynamics. On the basis of an impressive collection of chapters, it makes a significant, new contribution to comparative welfare state research.’
– Birgit Pfau-Effinger, University of Hamburg, Germany
‘The welfare state is a large machine redistributing resources and compensating social risks. This edited volume addresses the quest for welfare state legitimacy by studying social attitudes. It impressively expands our knowledge on welfare state support by researching changes over time and contextual factors as well as scrutinizing understudied fields of social policy.’
– Steffen Mau, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
‘Welfare states change their approach, focus and instruments in response to newly emerging challenges. Therefore, the study of welfare attitudes must constantly innovate to keep us informed about the social legitimacy of the new pathways welfare is taking. This book convincingly presents an innovative agenda for such study. Its empirical chapters exemplify the research lines set out by it, thereby showing the agenda’s highly promising appeal as a guide for future research on public attitudes to welfare.’
– Wim van Oorschot, KU Leuven, Belgium
‘This timely overview of the field points to the wealth of new data-sources and new methods in welfare state attitude research. It makes the case for new applications to consider a broader range of policies and issues, for the expansion of theoretical and explanatory work and identification of the attitudinal triggers which contribute to attitude change and perhaps to a more generous welfare state politics.’
– Peter Taylor-Gooby, University of Kent, UK
Contributors
Contributors include: Koen Abts, Sharon Baute, Helena Blomberg, Nate Breznau, Jason Jordan, Thierry Kochuyt, Christian Kroll, Tijs Laenen, Marie-Laure Mulayi, Bart Meuleman, Elias Naumann, Dominique Oehrli, Femke Roosma, Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen, Wim Van Lancker, Katharina Zimmerman
Contents
Contents:
1 Introduction to A Research Agenda for Public
Attitudes to Welfare 1
Femke Roosma and Tijs Laenen
2 Labour market policy preferences in the context
of migration 25
Dominique Oehrli and Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen
3 From national welfare states to Social Europe:
welfare attitudes in the context of European integration 55
Sharon Baute
4 New directions in research on public support for
universal basic income 83
Marie-Laure Mulayi, Tijs Laenen, Wim Van
Lancker and Bart Meuleman
5 Political awareness and the structure of support
for the welfare state 105
Jason Jordan
6 Just institutions for those most in need?
Quantitative and qualitative bottom-up
perspectives on the perceived legitimacy of
a social assistance reform: a focus on food aid
recipients in Finland 123
Helena Blomberg and Christian Kroll
7 Varieties of welfare populism; radical right voters
between chauvinism and producerism 143
Thierry Kochuyt, Koen Abts and Femke Roosma
8 Support for the welfare state over the life
course: analysing individual attitude change with
multiwave panel data 163
Elias Nauman
9 Institutional trajectories of the welfare state:
returns from social policy inception to modern
public opinion 187
Nate Breznau
10 Context as a part of our cases: the potential of
qualitative work in welfare attitudes research 209
Katharina Zimmermann
11 Conclusion: welfare attitudes research as
cathedral under permanent construction 231
Tijs Laenen and Femke Roosma
Index
1 Introduction to A Research Agenda for Public
Attitudes to Welfare 1
Femke Roosma and Tijs Laenen
2 Labour market policy preferences in the context
of migration 25
Dominique Oehrli and Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen
3 From national welfare states to Social Europe:
welfare attitudes in the context of European integration 55
Sharon Baute
4 New directions in research on public support for
universal basic income 83
Marie-Laure Mulayi, Tijs Laenen, Wim Van
Lancker and Bart Meuleman
5 Political awareness and the structure of support
for the welfare state 105
Jason Jordan
6 Just institutions for those most in need?
Quantitative and qualitative bottom-up
perspectives on the perceived legitimacy of
a social assistance reform: a focus on food aid
recipients in Finland 123
Helena Blomberg and Christian Kroll
7 Varieties of welfare populism; radical right voters
between chauvinism and producerism 143
Thierry Kochuyt, Koen Abts and Femke Roosma
8 Support for the welfare state over the life
course: analysing individual attitude change with
multiwave panel data 163
Elias Nauman
9 Institutional trajectories of the welfare state:
returns from social policy inception to modern
public opinion 187
Nate Breznau
10 Context as a part of our cases: the potential of
qualitative work in welfare attitudes research 209
Katharina Zimmermann
11 Conclusion: welfare attitudes research as
cathedral under permanent construction 231
Tijs Laenen and Femke Roosma
Index
