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The impact of intra-EU migration on welfare chauvinism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2017

Cornelius Cappelen  and
Yvette Peters
Cornelius Cappelen
Affiliation:
Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen, Norway E-mail: Cornelius.cappelen@uib.no
Yvette Peters
Affiliation:
Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen, Norway E-mail: Yvette.peters@uib.no
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Abstract

We examine whether intra-EU migration affects welfare chauvinistic attitudes, i.e. the idea that immigrants’ access to the welfare system should be restricted. According to the in-group/out-group theory, migration can unleash feelings of insecurity and thus trigger welfare chauvinism. According to intergroup contact theory, welfare chauvinism should decrease when immigration is higher, because contact reduces prejudice and softens anti-immigrant stances. We test these theories using data from the European Social Survey 2008/2009, supplemented with country-level data, and analyse these data using a multilevel ordered logit approach. We find a negative relation between intra-EU immigration and welfare chauvinism, supporting the intergroup contact theory: in countries with more intra-EU migration, welfare chauvinism tends to be lower. Furthermore, the higher the percentage of East European immigrants compared to other EU immigrants, the higher the level of welfare chauvinism.

Keywords

Bismarckian and Beveridgean welfare systemEuropeintergroup contact theoryintra-EU immigrationwelfare chauvinism
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 389 - 417
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press, 2017 

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