Attitudes on Means-Tested Social Benefits in Finland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2302932 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Olli Kangas (0000-0002-7343-6337, University of Turku, corresponding author), Olli E Kangas (University of Turku) |
| Year | 1995 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 299-310 |
| Publication date | 1995-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Acta Sociologica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-6993 • E-ISSN: 1502-3869 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/000169939503800402 |
| OpenAlex | W2084686506 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 31 |
| References cited | 19 |
The paper examines the attitudes of different socio-economic groups toward means- testing. By using data from an opinion survey of 1,117 Finns, the study seeks to answer the following questions: Are universal social benefits more popular than selective ones? Who are the most vigorous opponents of means-testing, the middle classes or blue-collar workers? Results give some support to the hypothesis that selective benefits are the most unpopular. The study also shows that opinions on selectivity do not cluster in one dimension, but that there are several aspects of selectivity and that the attitudes of socio- economic groups vary depending on which aspect of selectivity is at stake. The working class and Social Democrats have more reservations toward selectivity which targets the needy, whereas they are more eager to introduce selectivity into universal welfare programs by discriminating against high-income earners. Salaried employees and voters of the Conservative Party are more reluctant to exclude well-to-do people from universal benefits, whereas they accept tighter means-testing in currently means- or income-tested schemes
Affect (linguistics · Demographic economics · Dimension (graph theory · Economics · Political science · Public economics · Quality (philosophy · Social benefits · Welfare · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Mathematics · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology
The Paradox of Redistribution Revisited
The Social Legitimacy of Targeted Welfare and Welfare Deservingness
The Emergence of a “War” on Economic Crime
The grasshopper and the ants
Coming Late — Catching Up
Self-interest and the common good
For the Poor, but Not Only the Poor
Robin Hood, Matteus eller strikt likhet
Radical Reform Or Piecemeal Adjustments? The Case of Finnish Family Policy Reforms
An Analysis of the Factors Influencing Public Attitudes toward Implementing Basic Income (BI) from an Individual Perspective
Swinging support? Economic cycles and changes in the public attitudes towards welfare recipients in Finland 1995–2010
The ideological roots of the support for welfare state reform
Do institutions matter? The interplay between income benefit design, popular perceptions, and the social legitimacy of targeted welfare
What makes social policy programs (un)popular? Disentangling the causal impact of policy design, risk group deservingness and mode of delivery
Class, individualism and the Finnish welfare state
Mechanisms of poverty alleviation
Attitudes of Turkish and Moroccan Belgians toward Redistribution and Government Responsibility
Street‐level Bureaucrats' and the General Public's Deservingness Perceptions of Social Assistance Recipients in F inland
Institutional Development of Sickness Cash‐benefit Programmes in 18 OECD Countries
Popular preferences for a fully means-tested welfare provision model
Are universal welfare policies really more popular than selective ones? A critical discussion of empirical research
Universalism versus targeting
The Paradox of Redistribution and Strategies of Equality
Two decades after Korpi and Palme’s “paradox of redistribution
It's the middle that matters? Income group coalitions in support of redistributive welfare reform
The Lack of Partisan Conflict over the Welfare State in Spain
Welfare state structures and the structure of welfare state support
Do Structural Contexts Matter? Macro-sociological Factors and Popular Attitudes towards Public Welfare Services
Perceptions of the Causes of Poverty in Finland
Weakly institutionalized, heavily contested
Welfare deservingness opinions from heuristic to measurable concept
Social policy and welfare state in Sweden
The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion
The Politics of Social Solidarity
Stability and Change in the Public Support for the Welfare State; Finland 1975–1985
From Poor Relief to Institutional Welfare States
Surveys in social research
Social policy and distributional conflict in the capitalist democracies. A preliminary comparative framework
Comparing the Australian and Scandinavian Welfare States
Popular Support for the Welfare State
Class bases of universal social policy
Economic Crises and Support for the Welfare State in Finland 1975-1993
The End of Class Politics? Structural Cleavages and Attitudes to Swedish Welfare Policies
The Politics of Universalism
| Citations per year | 1.07 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1997 - 2025 (29) |
| Highly cited | No |