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Increasing conflict in times of retrenchment? Attitudes towards healthcare provision in E urope between 1996 and 2002
Author(s) -
Naumann Elias
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/ijsw.12067
Subject(s) - retrenchment , restructuring , public opinion , status quo , welfare state , status quo bias , health care , politics , political science , welfare , economics , public economics , development economics , economic growth , public administration , law
Public opinion is considered a major obstacle to changing the status quo of welfare state policies. Yet some far‐reaching reforms and gradual changes of E uropean welfare states prompt the reverse question: Have increased reform pressures and restructuring efforts led to changes in individual attitudes? In line with previous research, I found that the strong support for a public provision of healthcare remains unchanged. But what about the structure of attitudes? Testing core assumptions of the new politics theory and power resources theory, I looked at conflict lines within society and how they change in times of retrenchment. Analysing individual attitudes in 14 E uropean countries between 1996 and 2002, I moved beyond static comparisons across countries to provide a dynamic account of trends over time. Observing stability, not change, I found no evidence that the relevance of old cleavages is in decline. Both old and new cleavages shape individual attitudes.