Numbers and Attitudes towards Welfare State Generosity

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6345238
AutoresCarsten Jensen (0000-0002-4346-031X, Aarhus University), Anthony Kevins (0000-0003-3172-6632, Utrecht University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Volumen67
Número2
Páginas496-516
Fecha de publicación2019-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPolitical Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0032321718780516
OpenAlexW2805524815
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas47

Between pro-retrenchment politicians and segments of the media, exaggerated claims about the generous benefits enjoyed by those on welfare are relatively common. But to what extent, and under what conditions, can they actually shape attitudes towards welfare? This study explores these questions via a survey experiment conducted in the UK, examining: (1) the extent to which the value of the claimed figure matters; (2) if the presence of anchoring information about minimum wage income has an impact; and (3) whether these effects differ based on egalitarianism and political knowledge. Results suggest that increasing the size of the claimed figure decreases support in a broadly linear fashion, with anchoring information important only when (asserted) benefit levels are modestly above the minimum wage income. Egalitarianism, in turn, primarily matters when especially low figures are placed alongside information about minimum wage, while low-knowledge respondents were more susceptible to anchoring effects than high-knowledge ones

Anchoring · Basic income · Economics · Egalitarianism · Generosity · Labour economics · Market economy · Minimum wage · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Retrenchment · Value (mathematics · Wage · Welfare · Welfare state · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Psychology · Public Administration · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology