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Welfare state deservingness in the era of mass higher education

Author

Listed:
  • Diessner, Sebastian
  • Durazzi, Niccolo
  • Filetti, Federico
  • Hope, David
  • Kleider, Hanna
  • Limberg, Julian
  • Tonelli, Simone

Abstract

The educational composition of labor markets has changed dramatically in recent decades. In many advanced democracies, the majority of workers now possess a university education. We currently know very little about how this transformation has influenced perceptions of welfare state deservingness, which are closely linked to support for the welfare state. This article addresses that gap in the literature by carrying out an original survey with a sample of 3,916 respondents from the United States. The survey combines a conjoint experiment with an information provision experiment. We find causal evidence that people are less inclined to provide welfare state assistance to the university educated than the non-university educated. This is primarily driven by need-based considerations: The university educated are seen as less in need of support, due to their strong labor market position in contemporary knowledge economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Diessner, Sebastian & Durazzi, Niccolo & Filetti, Federico & Hope, David & Kleider, Hanna & Limberg, Julian & Tonelli, Simone, 2026. "Welfare state deservingness in the era of mass higher education," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 140161, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:140161
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/140161/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Diessner, Sebastian & Durazzi, Niccolo & Filetti, Federico & Hope, David & Kleider, Hanna & Tonelli, Simone, 2025. "The transition to the knowledge economy in advanced capitalist democracies: a new index for comparative research," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 127758, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Bullock, John G., 2021. "Education and Attitudes toward Redistribution in the United States," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(3), pages 1230-1250, July.
    3. Sebastian Diessner & Niccolo Durazzi & David Hope, 2022. "Skill-Biased Liberalization: Germany’s Transition to the Knowledge Economy," Politics & Society, , vol. 50(1), pages 117-155, March.
    4. Michael Bang Petersen, 2012. "Social Welfare as Small‐Scale Help: Evolutionary Psychology and the Deservingness Heuristic," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(1), pages 1-16, January.
    5. Hainmueller, Jens & Hopkins, Daniel J. & Yamamoto, Teppei, 2014. "Causal Inference in Conjoint Analysis: Understanding Multidimensional Choices via Stated Preference Experiments," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 1-30, January.
    6. Acemoglu, Daron & Autor, David, 2011. "Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 12, pages 1043-1171, Elsevier.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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