Welfare Chauvinism: Are Immigrants Granted Access to Welfare State Benefits?

Abstract

To understand the determinants and consequences of welfare chauvinism, researchers should consider four aspects: First, people apply different criteria when evaluating immigrants’ rights to access welfare resources, leading to soft and hard welfare chauvinism. Second, welfare chauvinism is not static between countries and over time, but context-dependent. Third, people distinguish between different welfare domains (e.g., healthcare and unemployment benefits) when evaluating immigrants’ rights to access. And fourth, it matters whose welfare rights people evaluate and who is evaluating these rights. For instance, natives distinguish between EU and non-EU immigrants. We discuss these aspects by analysing data from the European Social Survey and the immigrants’ Welfare State Attitude project, showing the complexity of welfare chauvinism within Europe and how it is linked to solidarity.