Satisfaction with democracy and perceived performance of the welfare state in Europe

This article tests several hypotheses for explaining the link between welfare-state performance and satisfaction with democracy. In conducting our multilevel analysis, we combine data from the European Social Survey 2012 special module on democracy with data on contextual and institutional condition...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of European social policy 2019-05, Vol.29 (2), p.241-256
Main Authors: Sirovátka, Tomáš, Guzi, Martin, Saxonberg, Steven
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citizens
Democracy
Economic conditions
Economic crisis
Multilevel analysis
Poverty
Public debt
Satisfaction
Welfare state
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Summary:This article tests several hypotheses for explaining the link between welfare-state performance and satisfaction with democracy. In conducting our multilevel analysis, we combine data from the European Social Survey 2012 special module on democracy with data on contextual and institutional conditions, including those on welfare-state regimes. Our results show that a discrepancy between desired policy goals and perceived policy outcomes in connection with the welfare state (i.e. the policy deficit) influences citizens’ perceptions of how well democracy in their country works. Social policies which citizens see as reducing poverty correlate positively with satisfaction with democracy. We also find evidence that satisfaction with democracy depends on the type of welfare regime, as well as on changes in economic conditions that arise due to financial crisis.
ISSN:0958-9287
1461-7269
DOI:10.1177/0958928718757685