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.     

A Survey of Commercial Sex Traders with Regard to Their Understanding of,Attitudes to and Behaviors towards AIDS

This paper attempts to provide a basisfor analysis of the most private relationshipsbetween individuals’sex behavior andsociety,the economy,institutions and cul-ture through an investigation of the commer-cial sex trade behavior of both sexes.Thestudy is based on a sample from two deten-tion and education centers in Shanghai.Therewere250effective responses from the malegroup and760effective responses from thefemale group.Thirty were interviewed.Thefindings follow:a.The general prevalence of …     

The “ugly” face of social investment? The politics of childcare in Central and Eastern Europe

In this article, we aim to understand the development dynamics of a specific area of social investment (SI), that is, childcare policies, in the context of postcommunist politics and the recent right-wing turn that took place in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. This article identifies varieties of channels for promoting SI. First, in taking the perspective of the “mixed economy of welfare,” we argue that attempts made to introduce elements of SI to the childcare policies involved various leading roles available for either the private sector or state/public domain. Second, it is important to distinguish between implicit/unintended and explicit/intended projects both in relation to cases in which SI strategy is applied via marketization/privatization and when it involves a government-led project. Third, we take into account the politics of SI implementation that might involve applying certain principles central to policy concepts (such as “investment”) in justifying policy instruments incompatible with original ideas. Although arguments about SI have been extensively used by Eastern European leaders, their goal has been to justify welfare reforms that were implicitly or explicitly directed towards the middle class while excluding the “nondeserving” often based on ethnic identity. We characterize Poland as a case of “implicit marketization,” the Czech Republic as a case of “explicit privatization,” and the Hungarian version of SI as a case of “explicit public dualization.” In this, we show that in some cases, the implementation of SI approaches by right-wing populist parties might rear its “ugly” head.     

Public Opinion against Markets? Attitudes towards Market Distribution of Social Services – A Comparison of 17 Countries

This article studies how citizens view the appropriateness of market criteria for allocating services commonly associated with social citizenship rights and welfare state responsibility. The article focuses specifically on a potential role for the market in the provision of social services. The relationship between welfare policy institutions, socio‐economic class and attitudes is explored by comparing attitudes across 17 countries of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, using multilevel modelling and data from the 2009 International Social Survey Programme. Results show that public support for market distribution of services is relatively weak in most countries, a result suggesting that public opinion is unlikely to pose a driving force within ongoing processes of welfare marketization. Still, attitudes are found to vary a lot across countries in tandem with between‐country variation in welfare policy design. First, aggregate public support for market distribution of services is stronger in countries with more private spending on services. Second, class differences in attitudes are larger in countries with more extensive state‐led delivery of services. Together, these results point to the operation of normative feedback‐effects flowing from existing welfare policy arrangements. The theoretical arguments and the empirical results presented in this article suggest that future research exploring the relationship between welfare policy and public opinion from a country‐comparative perspective is well advised to place greater focus on the market institutions that, to varying extents in different countries, act as complements to the state in the administration of social welfare.     

The conflict between naive and sophisticated choice as a form of the ‘liberal paradox’

Pareto-inefficient perfect equilibria can be represented by the liberal paradox approach of Sen, appropriately reconfigured to model intertemporal decision-making by an individual. We show that the preference profile used by Grout (1982) to construct a case in which naive choice Pareto-dominates sophisticated choice can be so represented, if tastes change and if the individual can make decisions at time t, which restrict or determine opportunities available in period t + 1 and beyond. This ability to make a decision that binds oneself in the future is a form of rights assignment. We also show how two resolutions of the liberal paradox work out in the individual decision framework.     

Does job satisfaction mediate the relationship between work–family conflict and psychological strain? A study of Australian social workers

The present study investigated the mediating effects of job satisfaction on the relationship between work–family conflict and psychological strain among Australian social workers. Data for the study were collected by an online survey of the membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers, yielding 439 usable responses. The results provide evidence that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict and psychological strain. These findings contribute significantly to the social work literature on work–family interface and confirm the importance of developing and targeting not only strategies that aim to reduce work–family conflict, but also those that aim to increase job satisfaction among social workers.     

Children against parents? The politics of intergenerational recalibration in Southern Europe

Traditionally, Southern European countries displayed remarkably elderly biased social policy arrangements. This article introduces the notion of intergenerational recalibration to capture reforms aimed at rebalancing the generational profile of Southern European welfare states via the expansion of family policy and social assistance schemes—both monetary benefits and care services—and retrenchment in the field of pensions. Then, it elaborates theoretically on the political dimension of this policy strategy, focusing on the implications of the peculiar combination of expansionary and retrenchment reforms, to advance the hypotheses that domestic politics would prevent the realization of such an agenda, whereas the latter would be favored by a major role of supranational actors, especially the European Union. To test these hypotheses, we systematically analyze policy trajectories in the field of pensions and social assistance in Italy and Spain between the mid‐1990s and 2016. This allows, first, to argue that investment in “pro‐children” measures has not adequately balanced the reduction of pro‐parents expenditure and, second, to question the idea that domestic political incentives to expand “pro‐children” policies are necessarily too weak as well as the “enabling” role of external pressures in pursuing intergenerational recalibration.     

Does the perception of benefit fraud shape tax attitudes in Europe?

After the negative effect of the recent financial crisis on public finances in many countries, it is of a great interest to study attitudes towards taxation to identify effective policies to enhance public support for taxation and welfare programs. In this paper, we analyze empirically people’s attitudes towards taxation in European countries. In particular, we test whether the perception about benefit fraud may produce different effects on preferences over the size of the welfare state along the income distribution. Moreover, we test if contextual variables are relatively more relevant than individual characteristics in determining attitudes towards taxation. Using different data sources for many EU countries in 2008, we contrast those hypotheses taking advantage of multilevel techniques. Our results suggest that policies targeting the deterrence of benefit fraud such as higher penalties and more frequent benefit investigations, increase the high earners’ willingness to pay taxes and then the size of the welfare state. We also find that contextual characteristics explain a larger variance of attitudes toward taxation than individual characteristics, suggesting that the same policy for all UE countries might be not a good strategy.     

Contested socialisms: the conflict between critical sociology and reform economics in communist Hungary, 1967–71

This article explores the relationship between economics and sociology in communist Hungary in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The discussion is grounded in the two fields’ respective history from the 1940s through to the conservative political backlash between 1968 and 1975. The Brezhnevite assault brought havoc to Hungarian sociology and social theory but left economic research basically intact and unscathed. My curiosity is in the contrasting fortunes and differing experiences of the two disciplines. We have to ask why these two segments of social thought and intellectual life fared so differently in the storms that reached the shores of reform communist Hungary following the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The answers to these questions are to be found in the historically contingent cultures of the two fields; in their differing identities and professional ethos; in their understanding of their place and role in society; in their internal politics; and in their relationship with the wider structures of political power and policymaking.     

The Formation of Complementarity between Confucianism and Taoism in the Pattern of Thought in An-cient China

The early years of the Western HanDynasty saw a major trend of intellectualintermingling. This ranged from free debateon the different schools of thought throughthe peaceful co-existence of six sects to thecomplementary duality of Confucianism andTaoism. In Sima Qian’s masterwork Shiji(Historical Records), the diverse schools ofthought flourishing before the rise of the QinEmpire in 221 BC had been reduced to sixsects: Confucianism, Legalism, Logicism,Mohism, Taoism and the School of …     

Do cutbacks pay off? Perceived changes in the standard of municipal services and attitudes towards services among citizens and municipal decision makers in Finland

One common aim in the Nordic countries during the last decade has been to lessen state control over municipal affairs and to increase the local community's influence over the development of (welfare) services. These reforms happened to coincide with the economic depression of the 1990s, which especially hit Finland and Sweden, and enforced extensive cutbacks that negatively influenced the standard of services in a number of ways. However, according to some indicators the cutbacks also made public services more efficient. This article – utilizing Finnish data from 1995 – focuses on a comparison between how the general public on the one hand and leading municipal politicians and administrators on the other hand perceived the development of services and, further, whether these perceptions influence the groups' attitudes towards future changes in the system. Results show that decision makers, in contrast to a significant proportion of citizens, have a quite positive view on the development of services as well as on the continuation of cutbacks and a reduction of the municipalities' responsibilities for service provision. The study also indicates that citizens' views on the decline of various services are related to negative attitudes towards further decrease or changes in the municipalities' responsibilities. Among the decision makers, those politicians who think that (particularly efficiency aspects of) services have developed favourably also exhibit the weakest support for the prevailing system. The results raise questions concerning the role of citizens' attitudes in the development of services in the municipalities.     

Portuguese healthcare reforms in the context of crisis: External pressure or domestic choice?

As a result of the recent economic crisis, in 2011, Portugal signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund (the “Troika”). In exchange for Troika's financial assistance, the Memorandum required the implementation of a specific set of reforms targeted at the healthcare sector. The literature on policy reforms in the context of crisis and conditionality argues that governments have restricted room to manoeuver in responding to external pressure. We challenge this view, finding that even in cases of conditionality and strong external pressures, crisis can be used as a window of opportunity for reforms substantially shaped by domestic policy choices. In the case of Portuguese health reforms, these choices were based on pre‐existing reform plans aimed on resolving country‐specific deficiencies of the healthcare system and were enabled by the two main political parties' strategies of tacit cooperation and blame avoidance. The article emphasizes the need for more fine‐grained analysis of welfare reforms in the crisis that pays equal attention to the institutional characteristics and the political context of the affected countries.     

A Bedrock of Support? Trends in Welfare State Attitudes in Sweden, 1981–2010

This article reports findings about Swedes' attitudes towards the welfare state from 1981 to 2010, building on data from the Swedish Welfare State Surveys. Attitudes towards social spending, willingness to pay taxes, attitudes towards collective financing and public organization, suspicion about welfare abuse, and trust in the task performance of the welfare state are tracked. Overall, there is a large degree of stability in attitudes, and where change is registered, it tends to go in the direction of increasing support. More people state their willingness to pay higher taxes for welfare policy purposes; more people want collective financing of welfare policies; and fewer people perceive extensive welfare abuse in 2010 than was the case in previous surveys. Class patterns change so that the salaried and the self‐employed become more similar to workers in their attitudes. Hence, the unprecedented election loss of the Swedish Social Democrats in 2010, and the rise of the Moderates (conservatives) as the dominant party cannot be explained by changing attitudes towards the welfare state. Nor can any corrosive effects from increased marketization of the Swedish welfare state on public support for welfare policies be detected.     

Class politics in the sandbox? An analysis of the socio‐economic determinants of preferences towards public spending and parental fees for childcare

This article analyses the socio‐economic determinants of public preferences towards public spending and parental fees for childcare and how they are conditioned by institutional contexts. Previous studies of childcare policy preferences have focused on attitudes regarding the provision of care. However, when it comes to questions of financing, we know astonishingly little about how supportive individuals actually are of expanding pre‐school early childhood education and care, and how support varies across different socio‐economic groups in society. This is an important research gap because childcare provision and how it is financed have redistributive implications, which vary depending on the institutional design of childcare policy. Using novel and unique survey data on childcare preferences from eight European countries, we argue and show that preferences towards expanding childcare are more contested than it is often assumed. The institutional structure of childcare shapes how income matters for preferences towards how much should be spent and how provision should be financed. Where access to childcare is socially stratified, the poor and the rich develop different preferences towards either increasing public spending or reducing parental fees in order to improve their access to childcare. The findings in this article suggest that expanding childcare in systems characterised by unequal access can be politically contested due to diverging policy priorities of individuals from different social backgrounds.     

New challenges for the welfare state: The emergence of youth unemployment regimes in Europe?

In this article we discuss the emergence of ‘youth unemployment regimes’ in Europe, that is, a set of coherent measures and policies aimed at providing state responses to the problem of unemployment and, more specifically, youth unemployment. We classify these measures and policies along two main dimensions: unemployment regulations and labour market regulations. Using original data, we show how seven European countries locate on these two dimensions as well as within the conceptual space resulting from the combination of the two dimensions. Our findings show cross‐national variations that do not fit the traditional typologies of comparative welfare studies. At the same time, however, the findings allow for reflecting upon possible patterns of convergence across European countries. In particular, we show some important similarities in terms of flexible labour market regulations. In this regard, the recent years have witnessed a trend towards a flexibilisation of the labour market, regardless of the prevailing welfare regime.     

Do Attitudes and Personality Characteristics Affect Socioeconomic Outcomes? The Case of Welfare Use by Young Women

Objective . We estimate a model of social-psychological determinants of entry into Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the primary cash welfare program in the United States until 1996. Methods . Using information from the youngest cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate logit models of the probability of ever participating in AFDC and hazard models of the timing until first use of AFDC. Results . We find strong associations between welfare use and several attitudes and personality characteristics, but with two exceptions, most of the associations are not robust to the inclusion of exogenous background characteristics. There is consistent, strong evidence that positive attitudes toward school lower the likelihood of using welfare and increase duration until first receipt. Family background and social environment characteristics show strong robust effects. Conclusions . Our results point to relatively weak evidence for the hypothesis that individual attitudes in adolescence have a significant impact on initial welfare receipt.