The Impact of Social Expenditure on Attitudes Towards Immigration in Europe

There is a growing body of literature dealing with the causes behind anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia. Based on the literature on the fiscal burden model, this paper contends that the differences in attitudes toward immigration, between low and high statuses, can be explained by the size of the welfare state. We argue that the impact of socio-economic status on attitudes toward immigration is larger in countries where social expenditure is high. Since a potential increase in the number of welfare recipients due to new immigrants might lead to a reduction in per capita transfers, low-income individuals in these countries are expected to be more concerned about the effect of immigration on social benefits. Using multilevel models and data from the European Social Survey we have found that while the effect of socio-economic status on attitudes toward immigration is positive there is a great deal of variation between countries. The difference in attitudes between high and low socio-economic statuses increases as social expenditure increases. Moreover, increases of social expenditure in the short run increases anti-immigrant sentiment as it raises concerns about the impact of immigration on welfare services.     

Conditional Solidarity: Social Class,Experiences of the Economic Crisis,and Welfare Attitudes in Europe

The aftermath of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis of 2007/2008 turned out as a veritable “stress test” for European welfare states. Aiming to stabilize citizens’ living conditions and mitigate socio-economic hardship, European governments have engaged in active crisis management. Yet, the protective capacities of European welfare states vary, as does individuals’ exposure to crisis-induced social risks. Hence, the crisis has impacted countries and the members of different social classes unequally. Against this backdrop, this paper asks how Europeans’ perceptions of the personal impact of the crisis are associated with their welfare attitudes, focusing on variations between social classes and across nations. Using cross-sectional Eurobarometer survey data from 2010 for 27 European countries, I find that perceived crisis impact is associated with greater support for welfare state responsibility and redistribution. However, this association is not homogeneous but moderated by an individual’s class position as well as national economic conditions and social spending levels. More specifically, on the individual level, perceived crisis impact is associated with more favourable welfare attitudes not only among its traditional supporters—such as the working class or the unemployed—but also among its traditional opponents, notably the self-employed. Furthermore, where social spending is higher, welfare state support is less strongly related to perceived crisis impact, suggesting that more encompassing welfare states mitigate the subjective impacts of the crisis. However, redistribution appears to be slightly more contested between those affected and those not affected by the crisis under better economic conditions. Given the challenges facing welfare states across Europe, it remains to be seen how stable a basis of popular support can be formed on these grounds.     

Ageing and Living Conditions of the Elderly: Sweden 1980–1998

General social reports on ageing and the elderly in Sweden have been published regularly since the 1970s, within the regular system of social reporting for Sweden, based on large-scale annual social surveys ongoing since three decades (ULF). This paper presents key findings from the recent social report for the elderly (Vogel et al., 2000). The recent report studies cross-sectional and longitudinal change in living conditions (trends over two decades; 1980–1998; register and survey data; n = 112,400), comparing between all three generations (youth, elderly, and mid-age), using a set of 82 social indicators within 12 social domains, and furthermore decomposing change in different generations by additional cleavages (social class, gender, family, region). Age variation and trends in living conditions are interpreted with respect to the changing welfare mix, i.e. the institutional configuration between labour market, welfare state and family. Findings are summarized as a generally widening generation gap, with improved living conditions for the elderly, and decreased conditions for the youngest generation.     

An Assessment of Social Welfare in Spain: Territorial Analysis Using a Synthetic Welfare Indicator

The aim of this paper is measure social welfare in Spanish provinces. To achieve this, we use the distance method P₂ to compose a synthetic indicator of welfare for 2007, the last year for which data are available. The index comprises information on different social indicators from various life domains and enables a classification of Spanish provinces, as well as a study of the impact of each individual indicator in order to determine provincial disparities in social welfare levels.     

Work-Life Conflict and Social Inequality in Western Europe

Recent debates on time-use suggest that there is an inverse relationship between time poverty and income poverty (Aguiar and Hurst in Q J Econ C(3):969–1006, 2007), with Hammermesh and Lee (Rev Econ Stat 89(2):374–383, 2007) suggesting much time poverty is ‘yuppie kvetch’ or ‘complaining’. Gershuny (Soc Res Int Q Soc Sci 72(2):287–314, 2005) argues that busyness is the ‘badge of honour’: being busy is now a positive, privileged position and it is high status people who work long hours and feel busy. Is this also true of work-life conflict? This paper explores the relationship between work-life tension and social inequality, as measured by social class, drawing on evidence from the European Social Survey. To what extent is work-life conflict a problem of the (comparatively) rich and privileged professional/managerial classes, and is this true across European countries? The countries selected offer a range of institutional and policy configurations to maximise variation. Using regression modelling of an index of subjective work-life conflict, we find that in all the countries under study, work-life conflict is higher among professionals than non-professionals. Part of this is explained by the fact that professionals work longer hours and experience more work pressure than other social classes, though the effect remains even after accounting for these factors. While levels of work-life conflict vary across the countries studied, country variation in class differences is modest. We consider other explanations of why professionals report higher work-life conflict and the implications of our findings for debates on social inequality.     

Das Anerkennungsdefizitsyndrom des Wohlfahrtsstaats

The contribution questions the conception of the welfare state as an institutional arrangement for social inclusion and integration underlying Günter Duxes book “Why justice at all” (“Warum denn Gerechtigkeit”). This concept is countered with a sociological analysis stressing the asymmetric structures of recognition that characterize the welfare state (particularly its German variant) and reconstructing the changing patterns of social inequality produced by recent “activation” policies. As a normative guideline for future reforms, the paper argues for a universalistic recognition regime that transcends the restrictions of the national-industrial model of welfare.     

Welfare Attitudes and Social Expenditure: Do Regimes Shape Public Opinion?

This article examines the link between regime types, social expenditure, and welfare attitudes. By employing data on 19 countries taken from the World Values Survey, the main aim is to see to what degree the institutions of a country affect the attitudes of its citizens. According to Esping-Andersen (The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Polity Press, Cambridge, 1990) welfare regimes can be classified into Liberal, Conservative, and Social Democratic categories. With this as my point of departure, I put forward two research questions: the first concerns the direct influence of regime type on people’s attitudes; the second seeks to trace the contours of the regime types by arguing that both social expenditure and welfare attitudes are products of a country’s institutional arrangements. These questions are answered through regression modelling and by examining the interplay between welfare attitudes, social expenditure, and welfare regimes. First, we see that there are significant differences in aggregated attitudes between countries belonging to the Liberal and the Conservative regimes, with the former’s citizens holding more rightist views than those of the latter. This is explained by the history and organization of welfare benefits of the two variations of Esping-Andersen’s classification. Second, by graphing welfare attitudes against social expenditure the outline of the three regime types mentioned above may be seen. Similar correspondence is not found with regards to an Eastern European category. All in all, this study renders some support for the regime argument.     

Quality of life in a European Perspective: The EUROMODULE as a New Instrument for Comparative Welfare Research

In this article, a new survey instrument for comparative welfare researchand social reporting is described, the EUROMODULE. It has been set up inintensive discussions among experts from several nations engaged inquality of life research and social reporting. By combining indicatorsof objective living conditions, subjective well-being, and quality ofsociety, with this new survey central aspects of the quality of life ofEuropean citizens can be investigated. The EUROMODULE initiative aimsat strengthening efforts to monitor and systematically analyze thecurrent state and the changes in living conditions and quality of lifein Europe in a comparative perspective. So far, data for eightEuropean countries are available.     

National and international approaches in social reporting

National and international approaches in social reporting in western Europe are described. The paper starts with the outline of current activities in international organizations. The competing national approaches are discussed. Further topics are the sources and products of social reporting; the plurality of actors in social reporting, and different ways of its institutionalization. The only incomplete diffusion of social reporting in Western Europe is described and some hypotheses are offered for an explanation. The conclusion points that there will be a new surge of social reporting in Europe in the 1990s. As a basis for its argumentation the paper presents rich tables on social surveys and a bibliography on social reporting by actor.This paper was presented at the workshop onSocial Statistics and Social Reporting in and for Europe, Mannheim, Germany, November 28–29 1991, organized by theMannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) and theCentre for Survey Research and Methodology (ZUMA), Mannheim.     

城市新贫困社群的福利供给研究：社会政策的视角

在中国经济快速增长的过程中,城市新贫困社群的福利供给出现了贫困陷阱的困境。对于这种福利供给所形成的贫困陷阱。当前学术界的主要研究是从个体的福利依赖角度来进行的。但是,基于湖南省长沙市区400余住新贫困社群的调研和对政府的走访资料．本研究解析了城市新贫困社群在现行福利供给体系下出现贫困陷阱的政策原因：缺乏赋权参与社会政策的建设理念,是制约当前新贫困社群需要满足得以实现的症结。建议政府采取针对社会发展需要与社会参与需要的社会政策来优化政府的福利供给效率。     

Travel and the ‘Freedom of Movement’: Racialised Encounters and Experiences Amongst Ethnic Minority Tourists in the EU

This paper presents a conceptual‐based discussion dealing with social and geo‐political concerns associated with the tourism experiences and travel encounters of ethnic minority citizens living in member‐states of the European Union (EU). Although EU legislation emphasises that its citizens have freedom of movement throughout member‐states, the prevalence of racialised situations transpiring within, across and beyond EU borders suggests that this commitment is socio‐politically ambiguous. The popular hysteria that has developed towards increased immigration from non‐EU countries extends to those minorities who have legal status of entry, residency and/or citizenship – as they too are visibly different from Europe's white majorities. The paper thus reflects on ways in which the 11 September 2001 attacks in America have had a detrimental impact on people's tourism and travel experiences, particularly in instances where individuals have been treated with high levels of suspicion from institutional bodies and ethnic (white) majorities. The work firmly emphasises that racial prejudice, institutional racism and xeno‐racist practices restrict ethnic minority citizens from appreciating cosmopolitan‐based tourism experiences and engaging in congenial exchanges with other European cultures and societies. One of the main contentions asserts that racialised movements limit ethnic minority citizens from achieving full rights to social and (multi)cultural forms of citizenship. The conclusion suggests ways in which researchers ought to respond to the study of tourism and racism within the EU.     

The European 'Welfare Mix': Institutional Configuration and Distributive Outcome in Sweden and the European Union. A Longitudinal and Comparative Perspective

This paper explores the institutional configuration (the three welfare delivery systems: market, welfare state, family) and its distributional correlates (income inequality; poverty rates; inequality related to social cleavages such as social class, generation, gender, region and family). The analysis has a twofold perspective: comparative (comparing 14 EU member states) and longitudinal (comparing Sweden 1975--1995), using nations as statistical units. The European union appears to be divided in three distinct and homogeneous clusters: a Nordic cluster (Sweden, Denmark, Finland) exhibiting large social expenses, high labour market participation and weak family ties. Its distributional features are low income inequality, poverty rates and class inequality, but high levels of inequality between generations; a southern cluster (Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal) characterised by lower welfare provisions, low employment, but strong traditional families. Its distributional features are high levels of income inequality, poverty and class inequality, but low levels of generational inequality; a central European cluster in intermediate position. UK joins the southern cluster with high levels of income inequality, poverty and class inequality.     

上海浦东城乡医疗保障体系一体化的发展策略——城乡阶梯式医疗保障体系的构建

由于城乡之间卫生体制的差异,卫生资源城乡分布不均,历史上浦东新区城乡形成了各自独立的两大医疗保障格局。新区农村实行的主要是合作医疗的保障制度,与城市相对完善的基本医疗保障体制相比,二者的保障水平存在一定差异。随着浦东城市化进程的加快,现有的城乡两大体系已越来越不适应浦东城乡一体化的社会发展趋势。本文较系统地提出了上海浦东城乡医疗保障体系一体化的发展策略,通过积极的制度创新,为二元结构向一体化结构的转变搭建过渡的阶梯。     

OECD: One or Many? Ranking Countries with a Composite Well-Being Indicator

In the social sciences it is hardly contested that “institutions matter”. Consequently the analysis of differences and similarities of institutions should be a routine task. Prevailing methods to the measurement of institutions are however problematic, in particular when they have to deal with different levels of measurement. To overcome this, in this paper we present an innovative method to the quantification of qualitative institutional data. We do this by, first, developing benchmarks for comparison based on Weberian ideal types. Then we identify and operationalise the dimensions and indicators to a nuanced measurement of institutions, after which we apply a careful and differentiated scoring, weighting and aggregation procedure in order to guarantee the highest standards of comparability, transparency and reliability of the method. Finally, we demonstrate our method by applying it to the analysis of institutional individualisation in European welfare institutions.     

Work-Family Conflict and Working Conditions in Western Europe

This article explores the influence of working conditions on work-family conflict (WFC) among married/cohabiting employees across seven European countries. Using data from the European Social Survey, the paper first investigates the role of working conditions relative to household level characteristics in mediating work-family conflict at the individual level. It then considers whether perceived conflict is lower in countries with coordinated production regimes and where social policy is more supportive of combining paid work and care demands. For men the lowest rates of WFC occurred in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, so for men there was a distinct ‘Nordic’ effect consistent with the welfare and production regime expectations. For women, we find paradoxically that ‘raw’ levels of work-family conflict are particularly high in France, Denmark and Sweden where supports for reconciling work and family life are high. Our models show that the high conflict among French women can be explained by household composition factors and so is due to higher levels of family pressures. Higher levels of conflict among Danish and Swedish women appear to be associated with their longer hours of work. Work conditions are found to play a larger role than family characteristics in accounting for work-family conflict, both in the country level models and in the pooled models. While this partly reflects our focus on the spillover of work into family life, it is notable that family characteristics have little effect in mediating work pressures. The results suggest that a policy emphasis on improving work conditions is likely to have major leverage in reducing work-family conflict.

Self-reports of child maltreatment in the U.S.: a key social indicator

A key social indicator of the well being of a society is the health and welfare of their children. Child maltreatment is a major problem in the U.S. and the world and the reporting of maltreatment has been the subject of much research and debate. However, little is known about self-reports of child maltreatment. Children face many obstacles that may prevent them from reporting their own maltreatment to authorities. Despite these obstacles, a small percentage of all child maltreatment reports made to child protective services (CPS) in the US are made by the victim. The purpose of this paper is to describe an analysis of reports made to CPS by the child-victim of maltreatment over a three-year period. Results indicated significant differences related to child race, gender and substantiation rate among self-reports and reports made by others. The data utilized in this publication were made available by the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Cornell University, Ithaca NY; and have been used by permission. Data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System were supplied by state child protective service agencies to the Children's Bureau or the Administration of Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Funding for NCANDS was provided by the Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System was implemented by Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc. Neither the participating state agencies; Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc.; the Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Archive, Cornell University, or its agents or employees bear any responsibility for the analyses, opinions, or interpretations presented here.     

Developing a Model for the Measurement of Social Inclusion and Social Capital in Regional Australia

This paper reviews the literature on social inclusion and social capital to develop a framework to guide the selection of items and measures for the forthcoming SA Department of Human Services Survey of Social Inclusion to be held in the region of Northern Adelaide in South Australia. Northern Adelaide is a region with areas of high socio-economic disadvantage, characterized by high unemployment and poverty. Survey respondents’ perceptions of social inclusion and social capital in Northern Adelaide will be examined by developing indices, which address the theoretical schema discussed in this paper. Epistemological differences between seminal theorists on social inclusion and social capital suggest the development of a broad suite of indices is required to enable the collection of data of interest to researchers from differing theoretical perspectives. Data collected in the survey will be mapped using Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies against locations within Northern Adelaide and in relation to existing Australian Bureau of Statistics, Commonwealth and State Government databases on age, gender, relative socio-economic disadvantage and other variables.     

汶川地震灾区农村居民住房重建资金获得的影响因素分析

文章使用汶川地震灾区居民的社会调查数据,着重分析了震前家庭社会经济地位、家庭社会网络和灾后恢复的制度性安排等因素对农村家庭获得住房重建资金的方式和能力的影响。研究发现,震前社会经济地位较高、社会网络资源量较丰富的家庭能够获得更多住房重建资金。家庭社会网络中亲戚比例较高对于家庭获得亲友借贷的金额有正面作用,但对获得更多建房资金却有负面影响。政府统一建房补贴和银行贷款政策都更偏重于处在受灾更严重地区的家庭。可见,灾后重建中家庭社会经济地位和家庭社会网络遵循相对优势法则配置资源,而政府灾后恢复制度则更可能遵循相对需求法则进行资源配置,二者共同支撑着灾后恢复重建。     

整合与综合化——香港养老服务体系改革的新趋势及其借鉴

近两年来,随着老龄程度的加深和养老新问题的出现,在对既往服务体系的全面反思的基础上,香港福利署对养老服务体系进行了调整和改革。强调回归社区、突显养老机构的特殊职能和整合资源、实现福利服务综合化成为这次政策调整的突出特点。本文试图分析这些特点在老年社区服务、机构服务和发展性服务上的体现,希望对改革中的我国老年福利服务体制有所借鉴。