ABSTRACT

In the last decades, the sustainability and the legitimacy of the welfare state regarding beneficiaries have been challenged, with the welfare question of /who should get what and why?/ becoming – and remaining – prevalent. This stresses the importance of individuals’ perceived living conditions – i.e. quality of life – in relation with the attitude regarding the responsibility of the welfare state in ensuring a reasonable standard of living for the elderly. Additionally, recent empirical evidence on the impact of contextual level determinants is increasing and gaining momentum. By conducting multilevel analysis on 24 countries from the European Social Survey data round 4 (2008), we aim to: 1) assess the role of individual-level characteristics for attitudes towards welfare state responsibilities, with a specific focus on perceived living conditions; and 2) analyse the country-level characteristics, with a focus on demographic, socio-economic and institutional variables.

Keywords: welfare states, public opinion, deservingness, European Social Survey, multilevel analysis

INTRODUCTION

Over the past two decades, demographic and societal transitions have determined substantial changes both in the living conditions of individuals, as well as in the circumstances of the countries they live in (Van der Heijden, Schalk & Van Veldhoven, 2008). As a result of these transformations, the ageing of societies is currently one of Europe's main concerns (Gelissen, 2000; Pierson, 2011), causing an increasing number of retired individuals to be dependent on social benefits. According to figures from the OECD (2014), in 2008 the major share of social expenditure is spent on old age. Due to the high demand of the elderly upon the welfare states, the popular support for the welfare states may have declined over the years (Van Oorschot, 2000a). In this paper, the emphasis is placed on the support for this particular needy group that puts great strain on the welfare states, by focusing on the question whether individuals believe that the welfare state should take the responsibility in ensuring a reasonable standard of living for retired individuals.

Previous literature on explaining attitudes towards welfare states has been focusing on the relationship of individuals’ structural position (indicating personal interest in welfare provision) with their values, ideologies, and beliefs regarding the welfare state (e.g. J.ger, 2006; Svallfors, 1997). Notwithstanding, in the literature, a third set of variables is believed to be related with attitudes, however scarcely applied in welfare state attitude research.