Abstract
Research has shown that several criteria underlie people’s opinions about the welfare deservingness of benefit recipients.
However, it remains unknown which factors are associated with the emphasis that people place on such criteria. Using a 2006
Dutch national survey on the welfare deservingness of disability pension recipients, we study the influence of structural
and cultural factors on people’s emphasis on three deservingness criteria: control, need, and reciprocity. OLS regression
analyses show that people’s emphasis on specific deservingness criteria is strengthened by structural factors that indicate
the possibility of resource competition such as the following: age, lower levels of education, unemployment, and lower income.
However, actual personal experience with receiving welfare benefits weakens criteria emphasis. Cultural factors such as the
espousal of views from the political right and the possession of a strong work ethic are associated with a heightened emphasis
on deservingness criteria.
However, it remains unknown which factors are associated with the emphasis that people place on such criteria. Using a 2006
Dutch national survey on the welfare deservingness of disability pension recipients, we study the influence of structural
and cultural factors on people’s emphasis on three deservingness criteria: control, need, and reciprocity. OLS regression
analyses show that people’s emphasis on specific deservingness criteria is strengthened by structural factors that indicate
the possibility of resource competition such as the following: age, lower levels of education, unemployment, and lower income.
However, actual personal experience with receiving welfare benefits weakens criteria emphasis. Cultural factors such as the
espousal of views from the political right and the possession of a strong work ethic are associated with a heightened emphasis
on deservingness criteria.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-15
- DOI 10.1007/s11205-011-9974-7
- Authors
- Marjolein Jeene, Department of Sociology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
- Wim van Oorschot, Department of Sociology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
- Wilfred Uunk, Department of Sociology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
- Journal Social Indicators Research
- Online ISSN 1573-0921
- Print ISSN 0303-8300