Hardback
The Social Legitimacy of Targeted Welfare
Attitudes to Welfare Deservingness
9781785367205 Edward Elgar Publishing
This book addresses new perspectives on the perceived popular deservingness of target groups of social services and benefits, offering new insights and analysis to this quickly developing field of welfare attitudes research. It provides an up-to-date state of the art in terms of concepts, theories, research methods and data. The book offers a multi-disciplinary view on deservingness attitudes, with contributions from sociology, political science, media studies and social psychology. It links up with central welfare state debates about the allocation of collective resources between groups with particular needs, and wider categories of need.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
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Presenting a stimulating contribution to the quickly advancing field of welfare attitudes research, this important book develops the understanding of welfare legitimacy. It does so by assessing the nature of popular judgments about welfare deservingness, as well as the roots and consequences of these attitudes, offering a state-of-the-art picture of the latest theoretical, conceptual and methodological developments.
The Social Legitimacy of Targeted Welfare provides a multidisciplinary view on deservingness attitudes, with contributions from sociology, political science, media studies and social psychology. It advocates a multi-actor perspective, looking not only at citizens’ attitudes, but also at attitudes of social administrators and policy-makers. The chapters also present new research methods in the field, including discrete choice experiments, factorial surveys, focus groups, and media content analysis.
This book will be of interest to students and researchers in sociology, political science, and the fields of social psychology, philosophy, economics and history. It will help practitioners and policymakers in social policy, social work and healthcare understand popular perceptions and beliefs regarding just distributions of welfare.
The Social Legitimacy of Targeted Welfare provides a multidisciplinary view on deservingness attitudes, with contributions from sociology, political science, media studies and social psychology. It advocates a multi-actor perspective, looking not only at citizens’ attitudes, but also at attitudes of social administrators and policy-makers. The chapters also present new research methods in the field, including discrete choice experiments, factorial surveys, focus groups, and media content analysis.
This book will be of interest to students and researchers in sociology, political science, and the fields of social psychology, philosophy, economics and history. It will help practitioners and policymakers in social policy, social work and healthcare understand popular perceptions and beliefs regarding just distributions of welfare.
Critical Acclaim
‘Deservingness considerations are central to the moral economy of welfare state arrangements. This book, written by a distinguished group of authors, offers a comprehensive, inspiring and highly innovative account of the logic and the drivers of deservingness attitudes. The authors succeed in putting the question “Who should get what, and why” in perspective and show the pivotal role of deservingness opinion therein. For sure, the book will become a key reference in the wider field of comparative welfare state research.’
– Steffen Mau, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
''Who should get what, and why?, Is a question at the heart of the debate about the social legitimacy of welfare states and about the reform of benefits systems; and it is the question at the heart of this timely, well-researched, well-written, well-edited and important book.''
– Citizen’s Income Newsletter
– Steffen Mau, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
''Who should get what, and why?, Is a question at the heart of the debate about the social legitimacy of welfare states and about the reform of benefits systems; and it is the question at the heart of this timely, well-researched, well-written, well-edited and important book.''
– Citizen’s Income Newsletter
Contributors
Contributors: H. Blomberg, A. Bos, C. Buß, R. de Vries, M. De Wilde, B. Ebbinghaus, S. Evers, A. Fladmoe, B.B. Geiger, M. Hiligsmann, M. Jeene, J. Kallio, O. Kangas, A. Kootstra, C. Kroll, S. Kumlin, T. Laenen, D. Lepianka, B. Meuleman, E. Naumann, M. Niemelä, A. Paulus, J. Ragusa, T. Reeskens, F. Roosma, M. Sadin, K. Steen-Johnson, W. Uunk, M. van der Aa, T. van der Meer, B. van Doorn, W. van Oorschot, D. Wollebœk
Contents
Contents:
PART I INTRODUCTION
1. The Social Legitimacy of Targeted Welfare and Welfare Deservingness
Wim van Oorschot and Femke Roosma
PART II POPULAR RANKING AND WEIGHING OF DESERVINGNESS
2. A Universal Rank Order of Deservingness? Geographical, Temporal and Social-Structural Comparisons
Tijs Laenen and Bart Meuleman
3. The Relative Importance of Welfare Deservingness Criteria
Tim Reeskens and Tom van der Meer
PART III THE COGNITIVE BASIS OF POPULAR DESERVINGNESS OPINIONS
4. False Beliefs and the Perceived Deservingness of Social Security Benefit Claimants
Ben Baumberg Geiger
5. Negative Attitudes towards Welfare Claimants: The Importance of Unconscious Bias
Robert de Vries
PART IV MEDIA FRAMES OF (UN)DESERVINGNESS
6. Are Visual Depictions of Poverty in the US Gendered and Racialized?
Bas van Doorn and Angela Bos
7. The Varying Faces of Poverty and Deservingness in Dutch Print Media
Dorota Lepianka
PART V THE NATIONAL CONTEXT OF DESERVINGNESS OPINIONS
8. How Welfare Reforms Influence Public Opinion Regarding Welfare Deservingness: Evidence from Dutch Time-Series Data, 1975–2006
Wilfred Uunk and Wim van Oorschot
9. Making Deservingness of the Unemployed Conditional: Changes in Public Support for the Conditionality of Unemployment Benefits
Christopher Buß, Bernhard Ebbinghaus and Elias Naumann
PART VI OBLIGATIONS OF BENEFIT CLAIMANTS
10. The Deservingness Logic Applied to Public Opinions Concerning Work Obligations for Benefit Claimants
Femke Roosma and Marjolein Jeene
PART VII DESERVINGNESS OPINIONS AMONG BUREAUCRATS AND POLICYMAKERS
11. Social Assistance Deservingness and Policy Measures: Attitudes of Finnish Politicians, Administrators and Citizens
Helena Blomberg, Johanna Kallio, Olli Kangas, Christian Kroll and Mikko Niemelä
12. Deservingness in Social Assistance Administrative Practice: A Factorial Survey Approach
Marjolijn De Wilde
13. Healthcare Deservingness Opinions of the General Public and Policymakers Compared: A Discrete Choice Experiment
Maartje van der Aa, Mickaël Hiligsmann, Aggie Paulus and Silvia Evers
PART VIII DESERVINGNESS OF MIGRANTS
14. Us versus Them: Examining the Perceived Deservingness of Minority Groups in the British Welfare State Using a Survey Experiment
Anouk Kootstra
15. Leap of Faith or Judgment of Deservingness? Generalized Trust, Trust in Immigrants and Support for the Welfare State
Staffan Kumlin, Dag Wollebæk, Audun Fladmoe and Kari Steen-Johnsen
PART IX DESERVINGNESS OF THE RICH
16. They’re not Worthy: The Perceived Deservingness of the Rich and its Connection to Policy Preferences
Meredith Sadin
17. Do the Rich Deserve a Tax Cut? Public Images, Deservingness Criteria and Americans’ Tax Policy Preferences
Jordan Ragusa
PART X CONCLUSIONS
18. Evaluating the Fruitfulness of Deservingness Theory
Bart Meuleman, Femke Roosma and Wim van Oorschot
Index
PART I INTRODUCTION
1. The Social Legitimacy of Targeted Welfare and Welfare Deservingness
Wim van Oorschot and Femke Roosma
PART II POPULAR RANKING AND WEIGHING OF DESERVINGNESS
2. A Universal Rank Order of Deservingness? Geographical, Temporal and Social-Structural Comparisons
Tijs Laenen and Bart Meuleman
3. The Relative Importance of Welfare Deservingness Criteria
Tim Reeskens and Tom van der Meer
PART III THE COGNITIVE BASIS OF POPULAR DESERVINGNESS OPINIONS
4. False Beliefs and the Perceived Deservingness of Social Security Benefit Claimants
Ben Baumberg Geiger
5. Negative Attitudes towards Welfare Claimants: The Importance of Unconscious Bias
Robert de Vries
PART IV MEDIA FRAMES OF (UN)DESERVINGNESS
6. Are Visual Depictions of Poverty in the US Gendered and Racialized?
Bas van Doorn and Angela Bos
7. The Varying Faces of Poverty and Deservingness in Dutch Print Media
Dorota Lepianka
PART V THE NATIONAL CONTEXT OF DESERVINGNESS OPINIONS
8. How Welfare Reforms Influence Public Opinion Regarding Welfare Deservingness: Evidence from Dutch Time-Series Data, 1975–2006
Wilfred Uunk and Wim van Oorschot
9. Making Deservingness of the Unemployed Conditional: Changes in Public Support for the Conditionality of Unemployment Benefits
Christopher Buß, Bernhard Ebbinghaus and Elias Naumann
PART VI OBLIGATIONS OF BENEFIT CLAIMANTS
10. The Deservingness Logic Applied to Public Opinions Concerning Work Obligations for Benefit Claimants
Femke Roosma and Marjolein Jeene
PART VII DESERVINGNESS OPINIONS AMONG BUREAUCRATS AND POLICYMAKERS
11. Social Assistance Deservingness and Policy Measures: Attitudes of Finnish Politicians, Administrators and Citizens
Helena Blomberg, Johanna Kallio, Olli Kangas, Christian Kroll and Mikko Niemelä
12. Deservingness in Social Assistance Administrative Practice: A Factorial Survey Approach
Marjolijn De Wilde
13. Healthcare Deservingness Opinions of the General Public and Policymakers Compared: A Discrete Choice Experiment
Maartje van der Aa, Mickaël Hiligsmann, Aggie Paulus and Silvia Evers
PART VIII DESERVINGNESS OF MIGRANTS
14. Us versus Them: Examining the Perceived Deservingness of Minority Groups in the British Welfare State Using a Survey Experiment
Anouk Kootstra
15. Leap of Faith or Judgment of Deservingness? Generalized Trust, Trust in Immigrants and Support for the Welfare State
Staffan Kumlin, Dag Wollebæk, Audun Fladmoe and Kari Steen-Johnsen
PART IX DESERVINGNESS OF THE RICH
16. They’re not Worthy: The Perceived Deservingness of the Rich and its Connection to Policy Preferences
Meredith Sadin
17. Do the Rich Deserve a Tax Cut? Public Images, Deservingness Criteria and Americans’ Tax Policy Preferences
Jordan Ragusa
PART X CONCLUSIONS
18. Evaluating the Fruitfulness of Deservingness Theory
Bart Meuleman, Femke Roosma and Wim van Oorschot
Index
