Abstract
Studying public attitudes to welfare is relevant for assessing the social legitimacy of the welfare state, knowing that this welfare state can only function if it is seen as just by the public. In this introductory chapter we map the current state of the academic literature and sketch a research agenda of public attitudes to welfare by presenting six potential new lines of research. We suggest to 1) expand the scope of welfare attitude research by examining more conditions of welfare state legitimacy, identifying how people combine different welfare attitudes and focus on attitudes towards more detailed and new social policies; 2) expand the explanatory factors in welfare attitudes research, by exploring welfare attitudes of different subgroups with special interests in the welfare state and by focusing more on contextual circumstances; 3) expand the dynamic perspective on public attitudes to welfare, by studying change and volatility of welfare attitudes.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | A Research Agenda for Public Attitudes to Welfare |
Editors | Femke Roosma, Tijs Laenen |
Publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing |
Chapter | 1 |
Pages | 1-23 |
Number of pages | 23 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Keywords
- welfare attitudes
- welfare states
- research agenda
- public opinion
- social policy
- deservingness