Cultural Context and Cross-National Differences in Public Opinion: An Application of Schwartz's Egalitarianism Dimension to Attitudes towards Immigration and Welfare

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gizem Arikan
1988 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey G. Reitz

This study attempts to explain differences between two countries—Britain and Canada—in the reception given to immigrant racial minorities in the post-war years. It is suggested that among the factors relevant to this explanation, importance should be attributed to cross-national differences in the institutional structure of immigration itself. Supporting comparative evidence comes from published research, public opinion polls, newspaper reports, parliamentary debates and the legislative records.


Author(s):  
Amy Adamczyk

Across the world, public opinion about homosexuality varies substantially. While residents in some nations have embraced gay rights as human rights, in other countries, very few people find homosexuality acceptable. Why are there such big differences in attitudes about homosexuality? Using survey data from almost ninety societies, this book shows that cross-national differences in how residents view homosexuality can largely be explained by three country characteristics: the strength of democratic institutions, the level of economic development, and the religious context. While these factors can explain a lot of the differences across the world, the way they shape attitudes within individual nations varies substantially. Each country has a different story to tell about how these forces affect public opinion. Country case studies, a content analysis of newspaper articles, and in-depth interviews are used to unpack the characteristics working within individual and key sets of nations. Attention is given not only to demographic and country characteristics that shape public opinion but also to the way these factors work within specific countries and combine with a nation’s unique history and social context to shape attitudes, laws, policies, and enforcement regarding homosexuality.


Author(s):  
Dennis C. Spies

The chapter summarizes the New Progressive Dilemma (NPD) debate, identifying three arguments from comparative welfare state and party research likely to be relevant to the relationship between immigration and welfare state retrenchment: public opinion, welfare institutions, and political parties. Alignment of anti-immigrant sentiments and welfare support varies considerably between countries, especially between the US and Europe, leading to different party incentives vis-à-vis welfare state retrenchment. The chapter introduces insights from comparative welfare state and party research to the debate, discussing inter alia, political parties in terms of welfare retrenchment, immigrants as a voter group, and cross-national variation of existing welfare institutions. It addresses the complex debates around attitudinal change caused by immigration, levels of welfare support, voting behavior, and social expenditures. Combining these strands of literature, a common theoretical framework is developed that is subsequently applied to both the US and Western European context.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002071522098786
Author(s):  
Steve R Entrich

This article examines the cross-national differences in socioeconomic accessibility to shadow education (SE) across 63 societies. Drawing on arguments from two competing theoretical models either emphasizing cross-national cultural, economic, and institutional differences (e.g. model of secondary schooling, scale of SE) or universally working social reproduction mechanisms (e.g. enrichment features of SE), this study provides a novel approach to understanding the role of SE for social inequality. More specifically, while the first model explicitly allows equality in access to SE, the latter suggests that SE fosters inequality under all circumstances. Using data from the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and official sources, first, the difference in the probability of top in comparison to bottom socioeconomic strata to use SE is predicted separately for all societies, before analyzing what causes the found considerable cross-national variation in the socioeconomic gap in access to SE at the country level. Results indicate that differences in SE access are linked to incentives for high-performing students to use SE. These incentives are especially common in societies with higher educational institutional differentiation (e.g. early or mixed tracking schooling models). In societies with less stratified education systems, access to SE is more equal, wherefore the potential effect of SE to social inequality is dampened. Overall, findings suggest that simple generalizations based on existing theoretical models provide no comprehensive explanation for the connection between SE and inequality. Instead, prominent beliefs about the relationship between SE and inequality are questioned.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Perla Werner ◽  
Sarang Kim

Background: Despite the increasing amount of research on dementia stigma, there is a dearth of cross-national studies conducted on this subject. This is surprising since the experience of stigma is closely associated to socio-cultural aspects. Objective: The present study intended to expand knowledge about the impact of culture on dementia stigma by comparing the level and correlates of stigmatic beliefs about dementia among the general public in Israel and Australia. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted with two age-matched samples: 447 adults in Israel and 290 adults in Australia. Results: Overall, dementia stigma was moderate in both countries. However, the level of dementia stigma was significantly higher in Australia than in Israel. Lower levels of subjective knowledge and higher levels of ageism were associated with increased levels of stigmatic beliefs in both countries. Gender was a significant correlate of dementia stigma, with male participants reporting higher levels of public stigma than women, although this gender difference was mainly driven by the Australian sample. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that providing knowledge and decreasing ageist attitudes should be key considerations in dementia awareness and stigma reduction campaigns despite the cultural context. In addition, developing gender-specific messages should be considered as a way of improving the effects of such campaigns.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110198
Author(s):  
Bastian A. Betthäuser ◽  
Caspar Kaiser ◽  
Nhat An Trinh

A large body of literature documents cross-national variation in the level of inequality of educational opportunity (IEO) among children from different social backgrounds. By contrast, relatively little attention has been given to the extent to which IEO varies within counties and across regions. On the basis of data from the European Social Survey, the authors map variation in IEO across regions in Europe and show that IEO varies substantially within counties. This visualization of the heterogeneity of IEO within European countries highlights the need for researchers and policy makers to extend the current focus on cross-national differences and to investigate and address IEO at the regional level. The visualization raises important questions with respect to the contours, causes, and consequences of cross-regional variation in IEO.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Junisbai ◽  
Azamat Junisbai ◽  
Baurzhan Zhussupov

Drawing on two waves of public opinion surveys conducted in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, we investigate the rise in religiosity and orthodoxy among Central Asian Muslims. We confirm that a religious revival is underway, with nearly 100 percent of Kazakhstani and Kyrgyzstani Muslims self-identifying as such in 2012—up from 80 percent in Kazakhstan in 2007. If we dig a bit deeper, however, we observe cross-national variations. Religious practice, as measured by daily prayer and weekly mosque attendance, is up in Kyrgyzstan, but has fallen in Kazakhstan. While the share of those who express preferences associated with religious orthodoxy has grown in both, this group has more than doubled in Kazakhstan. We attribute these differences to political context, both in terms of cross-national political variation and, within each country, variation based on regional differences.


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