Unemployment and support for redistribution in Europe

Government redistribution of income via taxes and transfers is one of the key topics in political economy and social policy. This seminar aims to discuss public attitudes towards this crucial welfare state function. In particular, this talk will provide detailed analyses of the impact of unemployment on attitudes towards income redistribution in more than twenty European countries. At the individual level, the analysis assesses whether being currently unemployed has a more substantial effect on support for income redistribution than having experienced a long spell of unemployment in the past. Furthermore, the paper investigates whether there is a positive relationship between the length of the unemployment spell and redistribution support. At higher levels, the paper studies longitudinal and cross-sectional relationships between several labour market contextual variables and support for redistribution. Analyses are based on the first eight rounds of the European Social Survey. Results suggest that past personal experience with unemployment has a strong, lasting impact on Europeans´ support for redistribution. Country-level labour market contextual variables are significantly associated with overall support for redistribution (i.e. significant cross-sectional relationships). Nevertheless, within-country deviations from long-term trends have a negligible impact (i.e. no overall longitudinal relationships).

At the beginning of this seminar, Ivan´s new book (co-authored with Lukáš Linek and Kristýna Bašná) will be introduced briefly. “Welfare State, Inequalities, Politics: The Czech Public’s Attitudes towards the Welfare State between 1996 and 2016” is a longitudinal study of general expectations and perceptions the Czech residents have the government´s role in providing public and social services. The book was published in Czech in early October.

Ivan Petrúšek is a doctoral candidate and a junior researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Social Sciences (Charles University). His research interests include political participation, attitudes towards economic inequalities and redistribution, and quantitative research methodology.

Online seminars are organized through Zoom. Registration is required in order to receive access information. Link to the registration is available HERE.