Where Should the Money Go? A Six-country Comparison of Attitudes toward Spending on Public Pensions and Unemployment Programs

JoEllen Pederson

International Journal of Social Science Studies, 2014, vol. 2, issue 1, 38-50

Abstract: Using both country-level and individual-level theories and indicators, this paper examines attitudes toward government spending on unemployment and pensions, two of the most expensive welfare state programs. I use a basic form of multilevel modeling to test three theories: self-interest, political ideology, and Esping-Andersen¡¯s regime typology. Specificlly, I examine how self-interest and political ideology shape respondents¡¯ ideas about spending on welfare and how these ideas vary across six countries. Based on my results, I argue that attitudes toward unemployment and pensions are not the same and cannot be assumed to be. With that said, Esping-Andersen¡¯s typology can, in fact, be applied to attitudes with minimal variation especially as it pertains to pensions. Self-interest and political ideology theories both impact individual-level differences in attitudes; while these theories measure different ideas of influence, they are both important in understanding peoples¡¯ attitudes about social policies.

Keywords: welfare; pensions; unemployment; cross-national; public opinion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rfa:journl:v:2:y:2014:i:1:p:38-50

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