Income Inequality, Poverty, and Fear of Crime in Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietari Kujala ◽  
Johanna Kallio ◽  
Mikko Niemelä
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Gini Coefficient ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Material Deprivation ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Poverty Risk ◽  
Survey Round

Studies of fear of crime in Europe associate country-level income inequality with fear of crime. However, by considering only income inequality these studies do not account for the effects of poverty. This article provides a more comprehensive perspective through multiple country-level indicators of income inequality and poverty and thereby provides important insights into fear of crime. The research data consist of the European Social Survey, Round 7 (2014), and country-level indicators provided by Eurostat. The results show that the Gini coefficient, S80/S20 ratio, and material deprivation are positively associated with fear of crime. The association is statistically significant but is moderate at best. However, the association between the relative median at-risk-of-poverty risk gap and fear of crime is not statistically significant. Education and income only appear to be mediators between material deprivation and fear of crime. Trust appears to be a mediator between the country-level indicators and fear of crime.

The relationship between fear of crime and risk perception across Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Krulichová
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Victimization Risk ◽  
Victimization Rate ◽  
The Relationship

Cross-national comparisons of fear of crime have been gaining in popularity within the academic community, as they allow for the examination of both individual and country-level correlates of this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the role of perceived victimization risk in fostering fear of crime with respect to various country specifics is often neglected. Drawing on data from the European Social Survey Round 5 (ESS R5), the aim of this study is to explore the relationship between fear of crime and risk perception in the context of 23 European countries. Risk perception is positively correlated with fear of crime in all of the analysed countries, although the strength of the relationship differs. Contrary to expectations, countries with a higher victimization rate exhibit a weaker relationship between fear of crime and risk perception, while in countries with a lower victimization rate, risk perception plays a relatively important role in shaping fear of crime. No effect of unemployment rate, size of migrant population or income inequality was found in the data.

scholarly journals Income inequality and fear of crime across the European region

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christin-Melanie Vauclair ◽  
Boyka Bratanova
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Multiple Levels

This paper aims to take a holistic approach to studying fear of crime by testing predictors at multiple levels of analyses. Data from the European Social Survey ( N = 56,752 from 29 countries) were used to test and extend the Income Inequality and Sense of Vulnerability Hypotheses. The findings confirm that (1) individuals in societies with greater income inequalities are more fearful of crime, and (2) older or disabled people as well as women report greater fear of crime. Contrary to the hypotheses, ethnic majority and not ethnic minority members report greater fear of crime, if they reside in high income inequality countries. It is further demonstrated that fear of crime explains the inverse association between income inequality and subjective well-being in this particular subsample.

scholarly journals MINDING THE GAP BETWEEN EXPECTATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF DEMOCRACY

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 7-32
Author(s):  
Todd Donovan ◽  
Jeffrey Karp
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Electoral Reforms ◽  
Democratic Performance ◽  
Using Data

Studies of perceptions of democratic performance and satisfaction with democracy may over estimate effects of electoral rules on attitudes if country-level corruption and income inequality are not accounted for.  We use mixed-level models to estimate evaluations of democracy using data from Wave 6 of the European Social Survey.  We use new measures of democratic expectations about elections and party systems along with the 'satisfaction with democracy' item to test for effects of electoral rules on perceptions of democracy.  We replicate previous studies and find multipartyism and preferential ballot structure correspond with positive evaluations of elections and parties, and greater satisfaction with how democracy is functioning in a person's country.  However, these relationships dissipate when we account for corruption and income inequality. This suggests we should exercise caution when linking electoral systems and electoral reforms to democratic legitimacy and perceptions of democratic performance.

scholarly journals Democracy belief systems in Europe: cognitive availability and attitudinal constraint

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-502
Author(s):  
Enrique Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Belief Systems ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Complex Concept ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Mass Publics ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Main Components ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
Constitutive Principles

AbstractThere is a growing interest in analyzing what citizens think about democracy. However, gauging citizens’ opinions about a complex concept such as democracy might be hindered by the apparent low levels of political sophistication of mass publics. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on citizens’ views and evaluations of democracy by analyzing to what extent ordinary citizens are capable of developing structured opinions about democracy and its constitutive principles. For this purpose, the paper adapts Converse’s notion of political belief systems to analyze the articulation of individuals’ democracy belief systems (DBS). The first goal of this paper is to conceptualize and operationalize the main components of individuals’ DBS: cognitive availability, horizontal constraint, and vertical constraint. Drawing on data from the sixth round of the European Social Survey, the second goal is to describe the articulation of DBS in Europe. The third and final aim of this paper is to trace the most relevant individual- and country-level correlates of the articulation of the three components of DBS. In line with recent findings about political belief systems in other policy domains, the results indicate that most Europeans have coherently structured attitudes about democracy. However, even if the results imply that Europeans have a relatively articulated DBS, the empirical analysis also reveals some individual- and country-level variation in the articulation of specific components of DBS.

Choice in Public Health Services: A Multilevel Analysis of Perceived Primary Care Doctor Choice in 22 Countries

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 1471-1493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Van de Walle ◽  
Sofie Marien
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Primary Care Doctor ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Level Of Satisfaction ◽  
Primary Care Doctors ◽  
Doctor Choice

The introduction of choice in public services, and in health services more specifically, is part of a wider movement to introduce consumerism in health care. We analyze how citizens perceive the availability of choice of primary care doctors in 22 European countries and the factors that influence their opinions using multilevel analyses and data from the European Social Survey (Round 2, 2004; 22 countries, N = 33,375). We distinguish between individual factors and structural or country-level factors. We find that perceptions of having enough choice are not influenced by the opportunity to freely choose primary care doctors, the density of doctors in a country, or the level of health expenditure. Instead, these perceptions are influenced by individual attributes, such as personal health circumstances, age, sex, location of residence (rural or urban), and level of satisfaction with the health system.

scholarly journals A condição sénior no Sul da Europa e na Escandinávia

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-542
Author(s):  
António Calha
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Survey Round

O aumento da esperança média de vida associado a uma retração significativa da natalidade tem contribuído para um rápido envelhecimento das sociedades e uma profunda alteração da estrutura demográfica de muitos dos países europeus. Neste artigo, analisamos as especificidades da condição sénior nos países do Sul da Europa e da Escandinávia. Tratando-se de países com uma configuração de modelos de proteção social distintos, procuramos perceber se existem formas diferenciadas de viver a velhice nessas sociedades. Para tal, recorremos à análise dos resultados obtidos no European Social Survey (round 5 - 2010). A análise realizada revela que a existência de diferentes modelos que configuram a condição sénior nas sociedades em análise traduz-se em formas diferenciadas de lidar com o processo de envelhecimento. Concluímos que a condição de idoso não depende exclusivamente dos fatores biológicos relacionados com a limitação física, pois o contexto social em que se enquadra a vivência desse período da vida também influencia a condição sénior e a forma como os idosos a perspetivam.

scholarly journals How does Income Inequality affect the Support for Populist Parties?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Stoetzer ◽  
Johannes Giesecke ◽  
Heike Klüver
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Mediation Analysis ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Causal Mediation Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Recent studies provide evidence that income inequality is a relevant driver for the electoral success of populist parties all over Europe. In this article, we aim to understand how exactly increasing income inequality can lead to support for populist parties. More specifically, we discuss four different attitudinal mechanisms that have been suggested in previous research: economic insecurities, trust in political elites, social integration and social identity. We rely on eight waves of the European Social Survey and find that especially trust in political elites is linked to rising income inequality and populist support. However, a causal mediation analysis shows that none of these mechanisms is sufficient to understand the impact of income inequality onsupport for populists. This finding raises questions regarding the empirical relevance of existing theories to explain how macroeconomic changes in inequality became a pre-condition for the rise of populist parties.

What Shapes the Perception of Income Inequality

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-67
Author(s):  
G. Monusova
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
Policies And Measures ◽  
Perceptions Of Inequality

The recent economic and sociological literature pays a lot of attention to the issue of income inequality and to preferences for the redistribution. This paper discusses various approaches which pretend to explain what shapes perceptions of income inequality and finally affects preferences for the redistribution. If people in a given country perceive the level of income inequality as too high and unacceptable, they may support various redistributive policies and measures. However, this does not always happen. Perceptions of inequality and preferences for redistribution vary across countries as well as across individuals within countries. The paper overviews existing theoretical and empirical studies and provides their synthesis. In its empirical section, the paper tests a few most frequently mentioned hypotheses. For this, it uses large cross-country data sets from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) and the European Social Survey (ESS) covering 34 and 25 countries, respectively. One of the main findings is that the public attitude towards inequality depends little on the actual level of inequality. What appears to be more important is whether the society provides functioning escalators to individuals for moving up the socio-economic ladder and whether individuals have recently experienced actual upward mobility. What also matters is whether this mobility is considered by public fair and legitimate. This means that is driven by hard work (and is meritocratic) but not by pure luck, or connections, or bribes (is structural). Therefore, the perception of inequality and redistributive demands are largely shaped by dominant views on fairness, social mobility and trust to the state. If individuals see for themselves feasible prospects for advancement and can achieve more in a way they consider fair, they are more likely to tolerate the income inequality and their redistributive claims tend to become weaker. This brings to the forefront the issue of quality of state institutions and institutional environment. The corruption as a measure of the institutional quality emerges a very strong predictor for larger support to redistributive policies.

Ageism, Religiosity, and Wellbeing Among Older Adults: Evidence From the European Social Survey (ESS4)

2020 ◽  
pp. 016402752095363
Author(s):  
Harris Hyun-soo Kim ◽  
Jong Hyun Jung
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Systemic Discrimination ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

Research shows that ageism (systemic discrimination against people because of their age) significantly undermines physical and psychological wellbeing, particularly among older adults. Our aim is to contribute to the literature by investigating whether this negative association varies across national religious context. We estimate multilevel models by drawing on a subset of data (ages 55 and above) from the fourth round of the European Social Survey (2008/2009). We find that ageism is negatively related to measures of wellbeing (happiness, life satisfaction, self-rated health). More importantly, the relationship is less pronounced in countries with higher levels of religiosity. These findings suggest that the country’s religious environment serves as a buffer against deleterious health consequences of ageism for the older population. Our study thus provides additional evidence on ageism as a critical risk factor and sheds novel light on the moderating role of country-level religiosity as a protective factor.

scholarly journals Factors affecting trust in police in Turkey

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1381
Author(s):  
Bekir Çakar
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Using Data

<p>Law enforcement administrators generally evaluate their performance using statistics related to crime control. These statistics are important indicators for measuring performance, but it is also crucial to measure of public opinions toward the police. This study examines the determinants of public trust in the police. Using data from the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 4, for the analysis, a total sample of 2,416 persons is selected from respondents from Turkey. The study provides a snapshot of citizens’ perceptions toward law enforcement. Overall, the results of this study regarding the demographic variables, including age, gender, marital status, and education, were consistent with previous research and proved to be significantly related to trust in the police. Surprisingly, perceived victimization failed to show a significant relationship. However, important predictors included perceived fear of crime and trust in the political system, which had significant impacts on public trust in the police. Especially, fear of crime was a significant predictor of satisfaction with police. Effective crime control and lowering crime rates are considered the core functions of law enforcement by citizens. Therefore, perceived effectiveness in fighting crime can lower individual fear of crime and thus increase satisfaction with law enforcement.<strong></strong></p>

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