Public opinion towards workfare policies in Europe: Polarisation of attitudes in times of austerity?

Increasing wage inequality, strong labour market divides and welfare retrenchment are widely believed to result in more polarised public opinion towards the welfare state. The present study examined if attitudes towards workfare policies have become more polarised in Europe over recent decades. To achieve this aim, the study analysed public opinion data from the European Value Study (EVS) from 23 European countries in the years 1990–2008, using multi‐level regression analysis. It is found that individuals who are most affected by workfare – the unemployed, the poor and the young – most strongly oppose workfare concepts. Against expectations, there was no evidence of an increasing polarisation of attitudes in Europe. Attitudinal cleavages based on employment status, income and education have remained stable. Differences between age groups have even dissolved because younger cohorts increasingly favour strict workfare policies. The results suggest that warnings of increasing social conflicts and an erosion of solidarity in European societies are exaggerated.     

Sexual harassment in the heartland? Community opinion on the EEOC suit against Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America

The number of sexual harassment cases filed annually with the EEOC has more than doubled, from 6000 in 1990 to over 15,000 in 1996, and monetary settlements reached through the EEOC have risen from $7.7 million in 1990 to $27 million in 1996. This article reports the results of a survey of community responses to the sexual harassment suit filed by the EEOC against the Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturer of America (MMMA), plant in Normal, Illinois. Eighty-seven percent of the respondents reported following the case and half said they believe the women’s claims are legitimate. But when asked to assume that they were a member of the jury hearing the sexual harassment case, only 33 percent said they would find MMMA guilty.     

Changing policy,changing attitudes? Public opinion on employment relations in New Zealand, 1990–2008

Abstract

Did significant policy shifts in employment relations in the 1990s lead to equally large changes in the attitudes of New Zealanders towards employment relations? Have policy modifications made since 1999 further shaped public perceptions? This paper explores the role of policy feedback in influencing public opinion towards employers and unions and towards government responsibility for jobs and wages. Using data from New Zealand public opinion surveys, most notably the New Zealand Election Study (1990–2008), the paper finds some evidence that policy feedback has occurred in the employment relations arena, but the impact is not as strong or consistent as we might expect. As such, New Zealanders do not completely endorse the ‘there is no alternative’ arguments of neoliberalism, but they do not have an overwhelming desire to return to Keynesian demand-management employment policies.