Immigration, altruism, and attitudes towards the welfare state

Thesis

This study develops a theoretical argument to explain when, why, and how immigration affects attitudes towards the welfare state and tests this argument in countries in Western Europe. I first argue that individuals’ attitudes towards the welfare state are driven by two concerns: material self-interest and altruism. I then argue that individuals are more likely to empathize with and help the poor when the poor are more like them in terms of culture, and that altruistic concerns have a greater influence on the welfare attitudes of the rich than the poor. I also disaggregate the effects of immigration into two parts: (i) it can make the poor more culturally dissimilar, and (ii) it can create competition for scarce resources, such as jobs and social benefits and services.

The central argument of this dissertation is that the variation in rich and poor voters’ support for a generous and inclusive welfare state across countries and time is explained by the extent to which immigration increases cultural dissimilarity among the poor and competition for scarce resources. When immigration increases cultural dissimilarity among the poor, voters become less willing to help them. Rich voters will therefore reduce their support for a generous and inclusive welfare state, while poor voters support a generous but less inclusive welfare state for self-interested reasons. When immigration creates resource competition, poor voters will demand more social spending and/or more restrictive eligibility rules to protect themselves against it.

Using quantitative and experimental methods, this study will show how immigration affects feelings of economic threat and the willingness to help the poor. Further, it will look at how these motivations explain the attitudes towards the welfare state among rich and poor voters across industrialized democracies in Western Europe and over time, and within the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Authors: Hooijer, G

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: immigration; attitudes; redistribution; welfare states