Public opinion and the crisis: the dynamics of support for the euro

Sara B. Hobolt and Christopher Wratil

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Further integration in the European Union (EU) increasingly depends on public legitimacy. The global financial crisis and the subsequent euro area crisis have amplified both the salience and the redistributive consequences of decisions taken in Brussels, raising the question of how this has influenced public support for European integration. In this contribution, we examine how public opinion has responded to the crisis, focusing on support for monetary integration. Interestingly, our results show that support for the euro has remained high within the euro area; however, attitudes are increasingly driven by utilitarian considerations, whereas identity concerns have become less important. While the crisis has been seen to deepen divisions within Europe, our findings suggest that it has also encouraged citizens in the euro area to form opinions on the euro on the basis of a cost–benefit analysis of European economic governance, rather than relying primarily on national attachments.

Keywords: crisis; euro; euroscepticism; identity; public opinion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-01-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec and nep-mon
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (29)

Published in Journal of European Public Policy, 12, January, 2015, 22(2), pp. 238-256. ISSN: 1350-1763

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:60788

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