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welfare spending

April 15, 2025

How welfare policy affects immigration attitudes

Alina Vrânceanu Social policies shape public opinions on immigration. A study by Alina Vrânceanu and Bilyana Petrova shows that in Western Europe, generous welfare systems – perhaps counterintuitively – make natives more favourably inclined toward immigrants. Cutting benefits risks exacerbating anti-immigrant sentiment. These research findings have important implications for social conflict in modern capitalist democracies Read more

April 17, 2023

🔮 We cannot ignore the populist radical-right impact on the welfare state

Juliana Chueri Juliana Chueri writes that radical right parties are transforming the welfare state, by creating a moral separation between the ‘deserving’ and the ‘undeserving’. This secures benefits to working nationals, while leaving unprotected immigrants and the long-term unemployed Read more

November 12, 2021

To understand your government’s welfare policies, look at its ministers' backgrounds

Despina Alexiadou Using a test case of social welfare policy, Despina Alexiadou argues that if we want to understand the policy choices of different governments, we should start by analysing the social class composition of its ministers Read more

May 18, 2021

How welfare state policies prevent the insecure from voting far right

Daphne Halikiopoulou Economic insecurity creates favourable conditions for far-right parties, who turn discontent into political advantage. Welfare state policies, argue Daphne Halikiopoulou and Tim Vlandas, must therefore focus on moderating these risks, and reducing the likelihood of insecure people voting far right Read more

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