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The paper presents a study on whether citizens’ immigration attitudes shape their attitudes towards social welfare in three Nordic countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper presents a study on whether citizens’ immigration attitudes shape their attitudes towards social welfare in three Nordic countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The main analysis was performed using linear regression analysis. Data were retrieved from the eighth round of the European Social Survey (2016). The data cover the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish respondents (N = 5,021).
Findings
The analyses indicate that citizens’ immigration attitudes are associated with their social welfare attitudes. The more positive the attitudes towards immigration are, the more positive the attitudes toward social welfare will be. Further, people in the political Left have more positive attitudes towards social welfare compared to those in the political Right; but, the immigration issue is more divisive of the political Left’s opinion than that of the Right.
Research limitations/implications
Public opinion research has its limitations because behind an individual’s opinion there are many hidden factors. An individual may also have different opinions depending on the dimensions of the welfare state.
Social implications
If the immigration issue reduces the support for social welfare among the political Left, it may reduce the legitimacy of the Nordic social policy because the support of the political Left has traditionally been in favour of the universal principles of the welfare state.
Originality/value
The association of the immigration issue and social welfare attitudes has been broadly studied; but, the interaction of the immigration issue and political opinion on social welfare attitudes is less studied.
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Babs Broekema, Menno Fenger and Jeroen van der Waal
This article aims to explore whether and how economic, political and demographic municipal conditions shape citizens' attitudes regarding decentralised social policies.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to explore whether and how economic, political and demographic municipal conditions shape citizens' attitudes regarding decentralised social policies.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analysed the 2018 wave of the Dutch Local Election Studies, which includes a novel survey item asking respondents whether they prefer local social policies to be primarily: (1) protection-based, (2) cohesion-building or (3) activation-based. The authors appended context indicators to that survey and performed multilevel logistic regression analyses (1,913 respondents nested in 336 municipalities).
Findings
At the individual level, these preferences are affected by gender, age, income, education and political inclination, as expected. However, preferences towards local social policies are not shaped by local economic, demographic or political conditions. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for future research.
Originality/value
By using unique data, including a newly developed survey item, this study is the first to explore whether and how municipal conditions shape preferences regarding local welfare. Understanding those preferences is increasingly important as many Western European countries have decentralised swathes of social policies from the national to the local level in recent decades.
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The present article deals with the topic of migrants’ exclusion from welfare benefits in European host countries from the angle of the research on the so-called “welfare…
Abstract
Purpose
The present article deals with the topic of migrants’ exclusion from welfare benefits in European host countries from the angle of the research on the so-called “welfare chauvinism” (Andersen and Bjørklund 1990, p. 212). More specifically, it explores the political justifications behind welfare chauvinism in the policy debate surrounding some recent chauvinist-oriented social policies. Drawing on that, the article develops a theoretical argument to generate expectations about how politicians use different types of justifications. The fundamental proposition is that the chauvinistic arguments used are shaped by the different types of social programs, i.e. either universal or means-tested programs.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative content analysis of several selected parliamentary debates in the period 2017–2019 in Austria is carried out. In order to improve the efficiency of the research, the author relies on MAXQDA, an advanced piece of software for qualitative data analysis, to code the qualitative data and analyze them. The author prefers this to other similar programs as it is considered a valid and reliable tool within the academic research world.
Findings
The article points out that programs design works as an explanatory factor to highlight variations of welfare chauvinist arguments.
Originality/value
It develops for the first time a theoretical argument explaining the presence and variation of welfare chauvinist arguments based on social programs design.
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Erin Jade Twyford, Farzana Aman Tanima and Sendirella George
In this paper, the authors explore racialisation through human-centric counter-accounts (counter-stories) to bring together critical race theory (CRT) and counter-accounting.
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors explore racialisation through human-centric counter-accounts (counter-stories) to bring together critical race theory (CRT) and counter-accounting.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilise CRT to demonstrate the emancipatory role of counter-stories in (re)telling racialized narratives, specifically the narrative of asylum seekers who arrive by sea and are subjected to the inhumane and oppressive nature of the Australian government's policy of offshore immigration detention.
Findings
Counter-stories, as tools of accountability, can make visible oppressive forces and the hidden practices of racialized social practices and norms.
Research limitations/implications
This paper emphasises that we are not in a post-racial world, and racialisation remains a fundamental challenge. We must continue to refute race as an ontological truth and strive to provide a platform for counter-stories that can spark or drive social change. This requires allies, including academics, to give that platform, support their plight, and offer avenues for change.
Originality/value
The authors introduce CRT as a theoretical tool for examining racialisation, opening space for a more critical confluence of accounting and race with potentially wide-reaching implications for our discipline. The paper also contributes to the limited accounting literature concerning asylum seekers, particularly in the use of counter-stories that offer a way of refuting, or challenging, the majoritarian/dominant narratives around asylum-seeking.
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Kelly Veasey and Jonathan Parker
This study aims to explore homeless-support workers’ perceptions of homeless welfare recipients and their experiences of navigating new conditions placed upon them by UK welfare…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore homeless-support workers’ perceptions of homeless welfare recipients and their experiences of navigating new conditions placed upon them by UK welfare reform. It examines support workers’ views of the most punitive feature of the welfare system, sanctions, on those recipients.In 2012, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government introduced the largest and most radical overhaul of the UK benefit system, significantly increasing the level of conditionality and sanctions for non-compliance, part of a shift in welfare, suggesting that rights must be balanced by responsibility and the “culture of worklessness” and “benefit dependency” should be addressed.
Design/methodology/approach
Welfare reforms in the UK and the increased use of sanctions as part of welfare conditionality are reviewed. Data are collected from eight semi-structured interviews taking place in five housing support groups in the South East and South West of England in 2019–2020. The interviews followed an approach from interpretive phenomenological analysis.
Findings
Findings from this study indicate that the government’s reforms serve as a disciplinary measure for the poor, reinforcing inequality and social marginalization. To mitigate the effects would require a comprehensive review of universal credit prior to its full rollout to claimants. Data are analyzed thematically.
Originality/value
Welfare conditionality and welfare reform is well-researched in the UK. There is also a significant volume of research concerning homelessness. This paper, however, fills a gap in research concerning the experiences of those working in housing support agencies working with homeless people in the UK.
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Laura Häkkilä, Piia Seppälä, Juulia Hietamäki and Timo Toikko
The study covers two different forms of financial support for households, income support for single parents and reimbursements for depression medicines, and explores their…
Abstract
Purpose
The study covers two different forms of financial support for households, income support for single parents and reimbursements for depression medicines, and explores their relationships with the demand for child protection services.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were retrieved from the Sotkanet, the Finnish Indicator Bank, and included 292 Finnish municipalities. It was hypothesised that the effect of income support for single-parent households on the need for child protection is mediated by reimbursements for depression medicines. The hypotheses were tested by using a conditional process analysis program, PROCESS (Model 4).
Findings
It was found that income support reduces the proportion of reimbursements for depression medicines in a municipality, which in turn reduces the need for child protection services. At the level of social policy, the study tentatively suggests that the social welfare system may affect the demand for child protection by investing in income support for single-parent households.
Research limitations/implications
The choice of variables does not fully explain the effect of the mechanism. The relationships that are found in this study can have hidden factors which affect them. Further, the data have only 292 cases, which is quite a small sample, and is limited to Finland.
Originality/value
The study suggests that the social welfare system may affect the demand for child protection by investing in income support for single-parent households.
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Monika Senghaas, Christopher Osiander, Gesine Stephan and Olaf Struck
In many countries, individuals can receive welfare support whilst simultaneously being employed. The level of earned income that welfare recipients are allowed to keep has long…
Abstract
Purpose
In many countries, individuals can receive welfare support whilst simultaneously being employed. The level of earned income that welfare recipients are allowed to keep has long been a subject of debate. Core issues include whether in-work benefit regulations provide incentives for individuals to expand labour market participation and are thus also socially effective and whether the population perceives welfare benefits for individuals who earn own income as fair. This article contributes to the debate about the social legitimacy of in-work benefit regulations by shedding light on the principles guiding judgements about an adequate amount of in-work benefit receipt.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a factorial survey experiment to investigate which factors guide judgements about an adequate level of in-work benefit receipt. In the authors' factorial survey, the household composition, health status, and monthly earnings of a hypothetical in-work benefit recipient were varied experimentally. The study investigates Germany's basic income support programme, a means-tested social policy programme that targets both unemployed and employed individuals.
Findings
The results show that respondents consider higher earnings retention rates for lower-income earners to be fair. This preference mirrors the German legislation, which is based on the principle of need. Furthermore, the presence of children and of physical as well as mental health impairments are associated with support for higher earnings retention rates.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that citizens support the core features of in-work benefit regulations but do not consider in-work benefit recipients as a homogenous group when assessing the adequate level of benefit receipt.
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Agostino Cortesi, Carlotta Berionni, Carina Veeckman, Chiara Leonardi, Gianluca Schiavo, Massimo Zancanaro, Marzia Cescon, Maria Sangiuliano, Dimitris Tampakis and Manolis Falelakis
The European H2020 Families_Share project aims at offering a grass-root approach and a co-designed platform supporting families for sharing time and tasks related to childcare…
Abstract
Purpose
The European H2020 Families_Share project aims at offering a grass-root approach and a co-designed platform supporting families for sharing time and tasks related to childcare, parenting, after-school and leisure activities and other household tasks. To achieve this objective, the Families_Share project has been built on current practices which are already leveraging on mutual help and support among families, such as Time Banks, Social Streets and self-organizing networks of parents active at the neighbourhood level and seek to harness the potential of ICT networks and mobile technologies to increase the effectiveness of participatory innovation. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the Families_Share methodology and platform, as well as the results obtained by several partecipating communities in different European countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper discusses how the Families Share approach (CAPS project, Horizon 2020) is bringing the sharing economy to childcare. Families Share developed a co-caring approach and a co-designed digital welfare platform to support parents with sharing time and tasks related to childcare, after-school and leisure activities. Families Share conducted two iterative pilot experiments and related socio-economic evaluations in six European cities. More than 3,000 citizens were engaged in the co-design process through their local community organizations and more than 1,700 parents and children actively experimented with the approach by organizing collaborative childcare activities. The authors discuss the challenges and solutions of co-designing a socio-technical approach aimed at facilitating socially innovative childcare models, and how the Families Share approach, based on technology-supported co-production of childcare, may provide a new sustainable welfare model for municipalities and companies with respect to life––work balance.
Findings
The authors discuss the challenges and solutions of co-designing a technological tool aimed at facilitating socially innovative childcare models, and how the Families Share approach may provide a new sustainable welfare model for municipalities and companies with respect to work–life balance.
Originality/value
As a main difference with state-of-the-art proposals, Families_Share is aimed to provide support to networks of parents in the organization of self-managed activities, this way being orthogonal with respect either to social-network functionalities or to supply and demand services. Furthermore, Families_Share has been based on a participative approach for both the ICT platform and the overall structure.
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Francisco Fermín Mallén-Broch, Ricardo Chiva, Alma Rodríguez-Sánchez and Jacob Guinot
The paper analyzes and develops Chiva's (2014) proposal on the common welfare HRM system and uncovers its relationship with innovativeness, using altruism as a mediator.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper analyzes and develops Chiva's (2014) proposal on the common welfare HRM system and uncovers its relationship with innovativeness, using altruism as a mediator.
Design/methodology/approach
The common welfare HRM system implies a certain human and organizational development of the classic control and commitment HRM systems, and its main goal is to promote innovation through a prosocial approach. To this end, the authors investigated its HRM practices, developed a measurement instrument and provided initial illustrative evidence of some of its main implications for innovativeness and altruism. They tested these relationships on a sample of 269 Spanish firms using structural equations and bootstrapping to confirm the significance of the mediated effect.
Findings
Results confirm the study’s hypotheses, thus supporting the common welfare HRM system as a relevant tool for developing innovativeness through the power of altruism. This paper therefore provides empirical evidence of these relationships.
Practical implications
This study has implications that can help managers to increase innovativeness through a specific HRM system. The findings reveal that a coherent set of HRM practices based on common welfare principles and a high level of consciousness creates a climate of altruism that results in innovativeness.
Originality/value
This research shows that humanistic HRM practices also have an impact on performance variables such as innovativeness, through altruistic employees' behaviors. It also develops a measurement instrument for the common welfare HRM system and provides some initial illustrative evidence of some of its main implications.
研究目的
本文分析並發展Chiva (2014) 關於共同福祉人力資源管理系統的建議;同時,擬以利他主義為中介變量、揭示共同福祉人力資源管理系統與創新意念之間的關係。
研究設計/方法/理念
共同福祉人力資源管理系統暗示了典型的管制和承諾型人力資源管理系統的人類與組織發展;而共同福祉人力資源管理系統的主要目的是以親社會理念去鼓勵創新。為此,我們探討了共同福祉人力資源管理措施,制訂了測量儀器,並為共同福祉人力資源管理可幫助帶來創新意念和利他主義的啟示,提供了初步的例證。研究的樣本為269間西班牙公司;我們以結構方程去檢測共同福祉人力資源管理與創新意念和利他主義之間的關係,並創造環境,俾能確認有關之中介效應的重要性。
研究結果
研究結果證實了我們的假設,就是說,研究結果確認了透過利他主義的影響力,共同福祉人力資源管理系統是可以成為促進創新意念的工具的。就此而言,本文提供了關於這些關係的經驗證據。
研究的原創性
本研究顯示了人文主義的人力資源管理措施,亦可透過僱員無私的行為,影響著各個績效變量,像是創新意念。研究亦為共同福祉人力資源管理系統制訂了測量儀器,並提供了初步的例證,確認了該人力資源管理系統所給予我們的主要啟示。
實務方面的啟示
本研究為管理人員提供了啟示,協助他們透過特定的人力資源管理系統去增強創新意念。研究結果顯示、建基於共同福祉的原則和高度意識水平的一整套連貫的人力資源管理措施,能創造一個引來創新意念的利他主義氣氛。
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Enoch Owusu-Sekyere, Helena Hansson, Evgenij Telezhenko, Ann-Kristin Nyman and Haseeb Ahmed
The purpose of this paper was to assess the economic impact of investment in different animal welfare–enhancing flooring solutions in Swedish dairy farming.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to assess the economic impact of investment in different animal welfare–enhancing flooring solutions in Swedish dairy farming.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors developed a bio-economic model and used stochastic partial budgeting approach to simulate the economic consequences of enhancing solid and slatted concrete floors with soft rubber covering.
Findings
The findings highlight that keeping herds on solid and slatted concrete floor surfaces with soft rubber coverings is a profitable solution, compared with keeping herds on solid and slatted concrete floors without a soft covering. The profit per cow when kept on a solid concrete floor with soft rubber covering increased by 13%–16% depending on the breed.
Practical implications
Promoting farm investments such as improvement in flooring solution, which have both economic and animal welfare incentives, is a potential way of promoting sustainable dairy production. Farmers may make investments in improved floors, resulting in enhanced animal welfare and economic outcomes necessary for sustaining dairy production.
Originality/value
This literature review indicated that the economic impact of investment in specific types of floor improvement solutions, investment costs and financial outcomes have received little attention. This study provides insights needed for a more informed decision-making process when selecting optimal flooring solutions for new and renovated barns that improve both animal welfare and ease the burden on farmers and public financial support.
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