Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T03:26:12.506Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Citizens’ Opinions About Basic Income Proposals Compared – A Conjoint Analysis of Finland and Switzerland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2019

ISABELLE STADELMANN-STEFFEN*
Affiliation:
Institute of Political Science, University of Berne, Switzerland
CLAU DERMONT
Affiliation:
Institute of Political Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland
*
Corresponding author. email: [email protected]

Abstract

The basic income (BI) scheme is a fundamental reform of the welfare state that has recently gained widespread attention. Proposals for different variants of BI schemes have emerged to account for varying political and societal goals. This study investigates what citizens think about the idea of a BI, and to what extent citizens’ perceptions depend on the exact design of such a scheme and the context in which this policy is embedded. Empirically, we rely on conjoint experiments conducted in Finland and Switzerland – the two countries in which the introduction of a BI scheme has recently been discussed most intensely. We find that the level of public support for BI is higher in Finland than it is in Switzerland. Moreover, despite the contrasting designs of the BI proposals in the two countries, both Finnish and Swiss citizens tend to favor more generous schemes restricting non-nationals’ access to the provision.

Type
Article
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bay, A.-H. and Pedersen, A. W. (2006), ‘The limits of social solidarity: basic income, immigration and the legitimacy of the universal welfare state’, Acta Sociologica, 49(4), 419436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, D., Gray, T. and Haggett, C. (2005), ‘The “social gap” in wind farm siting decisions: explanations and policy responses’. Environmental Politics, 14(4), 460477. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644010500175833CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caroni, F. (2017), Ausgewählte Beiträge zur Schweizer Politik: Volksinitiative „Für ein bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen“ 2012-2016. Bern. Retrieved from www.anneepolitique.swiss, retrieved on 13.12.2017.Google Scholar
Colombo, C., De Rocchi, T., Kurer, T. and Widmer, T. (2016), Analyse der eidgenössichen Abstimmung vom 5. Juni 2016. Bern/Zurich.Google Scholar
de Koster, W., Achterberg, P. and van der Waal, J. (2013), ‘The new right and the welfare state: The electoral relevance of welfare chauvinism and welfare populism in the Netherlands’, International Political Science Review, 34(1), 320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Wispelaere, J. (2016), ‘The struggle for strategy: On the politics of the basic income proposal’, Politics, 36(2), 131141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Wispelaere, J. and Morales, L. (2016), ‘The stability of basic income: a constitutional solution for a political problem?’, Journal of Public Policy, 36(04), 521545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Wispelaere, J. and Stirton, L. (2004), ‘The many faces of universal basic income’, The Political Quarterly, 75(3), 266274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elster, J. (1986), ‘Comment on Van der Veen and Van Parijs’, Theory and Society, 15(5), 709721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gingrich, J. (2014), ‘Structuring the vote: welfare institutions and value-based vote choices’. In Kumlin, S., and Stadelmann-Steffen, I. (Eds.), How welfare states shape the democratic public: Policy feedback, participation, voting and attitudes (pp. 93112), Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.Google Scholar
Hainmueller, J., Hopkins, D. J. and Yamamoto, T. (2014), ‘Causal inference in conjoint analysis: understanding multidimensional choices via stated preference experiments’. Political Analysis, 22(01), 130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kangas, O. (2016), From idea to experiment. Report on universal basic income experiment in Finland (Working papers No. 106). Retrieved from =https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/ 10138/167728/WorkingPapers106.pdf?sequence=4 (retrieved June 1, 2017)Google Scholar
Koistinen, P. and Perkiö, J. (2014), ‘Good and bad times of social innovations: The case of universal basic income in Finland’, Basic Income Studies, 9(1–2), 2557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liebig, S. and Mau, S. (2004), ‘A legitimate guaranteed minimum income?’ In Standing, G. (Ed.), Promoting Income Security as a Right: Europe and North America (pp. 207228), London: Anthem Press.Google Scholar
Morel, N., Palier, B., and Palme, J. (Eds.), (2012), Towards a Social Investment Welfare State? Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Murray, C. (2008), ‘Guaranteed income as a replacement for the welfare state’, Basic Income Studies, 3(2).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noguera, J. A. and De Wispelaere, J. (2006), ‘A plea for the use of laboratory experiments in basic income research’, Basic Income Studies, 1(2), 18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pateman, C. (2004), ‘Democratizing citizenship: some advantages of a basic income’, Politics & Society, 32(1), 89105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfeifer, M. (2009), ‘Public opinion on state responsibility for minimum income protection: A comparison of 14 european countries’, Acta Sociologica, 52(2), 117134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pierson, P. (2001), The New Politics of the Welfare State. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reeskens, T. and van Oorschot, W. (2012), Disentangling the ‘New Liberal Dilemma’: On the relation between general welfare redistribution preferences and welfare chauvinism. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 53(2), 120139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothstein, B. (2017), UBI– A Bad Idea For The Welfare State. Social Europe, 23 November. Retrieved from https://www.socialeurope.eu/ubi-bad-idea-welfare-stateGoogle Scholar
van der Waal, J., Achterberg, P., Houtman, D., de Koster, W. and Manevska, K. (2010), ‘Some are more equal than others’: economic egalitarianism and welfare chauvinism in the Netherlands. Journal of European Social Policy, 20(4), 350363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Oorschot, W. (2006), Making the difference in social Europe: deservingness perceptions among citizens of European welfare states. Journal of European Social Policy, 16(1), 2342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Parijs, P. (1992), Arguing for Basic Income: Ethical Foundations for a Radical Reform. London and New York, NY: Verso.Google Scholar
Van Parijs, P. (1995), Real Freedom for All. What (if Anything) can Justify Capitalism? Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Van Parijs, P. (2004), Basic Income : A Simple and Powerful Idea for the Twenty-first Century. Politics & Society, 32(1), 739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Widerquist, K., Noguera, J. A., Vanderborght, Y. and De Wispelaere, J. (2013), Basic Income : An Anthology of Contemporary Research. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Stadelmann-Steffen and Dermont supplementary material

Stadelmann-Steffen and Dermont supplementary material 1

Download Stadelmann-Steffen and Dermont supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 736.5 KB