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Citizen support for the Welfare State: Determinants of preferences for income redistribution

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  • Rehm, Philipp

Abstract

This paper explores the determinants of individual level support for income redistribution by the government. It argues that there are two sources of preference formation when it comes to redistribution. People are either in favor of income redistribution because they are disadvantaged, or they favor redistribution as a means to insure against income shocks. The paper explores both logics, but focuses on the latter. Four risk factors are hypothesizes to influence an individual’s preferences over income redistribution: a) structural change; b) exposure to international competition; c) specificity of skills; and d) occupational unemployment. Some of these measures are novel. The paper relies on the European Social Survey 2002/2003 in order to test the formulated hypotheses. The results show that a) skill specificity and occupational unemployment are important determinants of individual preferences over redistribution whereas b) structural change and exposure to international competition are not.

Suggested Citation

  • Rehm, Philipp, 2005. "Citizen support for the Welfare State: Determinants of preferences for income redistribution," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Institutions, States, Markets SP II 2005-02, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:wzbism:spii200502
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mayda, Anna Maria & Rodrik, Dani, 2005. "Why are some people (and countries) more protectionist than others?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 1393-1430, August.
    2. Mares,Isabela, 2003. "The Politics of Social Risk," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521534772.
    3. Barr, Nicholas, 2001. "The Welfare State as Piggy Bank: Information, Risk, Uncertainty, and the Role of the State," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199246595.
    4. Kenneth Scheve & Matthew Slaughter, 2002. "Economic Insecurity and the Globalization of Production," NBER Working Papers 9339, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Beramendi, Pablo & Cusack, Thomas R., 2004. "Diverse disparities: The politics and economics of wage, market and disposable income inequalities," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Institutions, States, Markets SP II 2004-08, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. K. H. O'Rourke & R. Sinnott, 2001. "The Determinants of Individual Trade Policy Preferences: International Survey Evidence," CEG Working Papers 20016, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    7. Mares,Isabela, 2003. "The Politics of Social Risk," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521827416.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Elvire Guillaud, 2011. "Preferences for redistribution : an empirical analysis," Post-Print halshs-00594072, HAL.
    2. Bruno Amable, 2009. "The Differentiation of Social Demands in Europe. The Social Basis of the European Models of Capitalism," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 91(3), pages 391-426, May.
    3. Elvire Guillaud, 2013. "Preferences for redistribution: an empirical analysis over 33 countries," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 11(1), pages 57-78, March.
    4. Cusack, Thomas R. & Iversen, Torben & Rehm, Philipp, 2005. "Risks at work: the demand and supply sides of government redistribution," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Institutions, States, Markets SP II 2005-15, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    5. María Jesús Mancebón & Domingo P. Ximénez-de-Embún & Mauro Mediavilla & José María Gómez-Sancho, 2019. "Does the educational management model matter? New evidence from a quasiexperimental approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 107-135, January.
    6. Philipp Kroeger, 2014. "Demand for redistribution in the wake of the Great Recession," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 3(3), pages 156-165.
    7. Paulo Reis Mourao, 2007. "Has Trade Openness Increased all Portuguese Public Expenditures? A Detailed Time-Series Study," Financial Theory and Practice, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(3), pages 225-247.
    8. Elvire Guillaud, 2008. "Preferences for redistribution: a European comparative analysis," PSE Working Papers halshs-00586260, HAL.
    9. Tausch, Arno, 2015. "Hofstede, Inglehart and beyond. New directions in empirical global value research," MPRA Paper 64282, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 11 May 2015.
    10. Molnár, György & Kapitány, Zsuzsa, 2007. "Bizonytalanság és a jövedelmek újraelosztása iránti igény Magyarországon [Uncertainty and the demand for redistribution in Hungary]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(3), pages 201-232.
    11. Kemmerling, Achim, 2007. "The end of work or work without end? The role of voters' beliefs in shaping policies of early exit," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Labor Market Policy and Employment SP I 2007-108, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public Opinion; Preferences; Redistribution; Varieties of Capitalism; Trade; Unemployment; Occupations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs

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