scholarly journals Regional Variation in Inequality of Educational Opportunity across Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110198
Author(s):  
Bastian A. Betthäuser ◽  
Caspar Kaiser ◽  
Nhat An Trinh
Keyword(s):  
Regional Variation ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Large Body ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Inequality Of Educational Opportunity ◽  
Cross National

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.

scholarly journals Does Education Matter for the Relationship between Healthcare Use for Serious Health Problems and Well-being? A Study in 24 Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1136-1150
Author(s):  
Rania F. Valeeva
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Healthcare Use ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Multiple Regression Models ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National

Previous research has shown that the well-being of people in Western societies varies consistently. To understand these differences, we focus on the relationship between healthcare use and well-being, since previous research has shown that poor health and lack of social support reduce well-being. Based on the findings of the previous research, we hypothesize that there is a positive relationship between healthcare use and well-being, and that the strength of this relationship increases with the years of schooling. We tested these hypotheses in 24 countries using data (N = 40,249) from the European Social Survey. The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression models. Our results indicate cross-national differences in the relationship between healthcare use for serious health problems and well-being. Moreover, they suggest that the extent of education matters for this relationship, however its influence differs across countries. Further research is needed to explain these cross-national differences.

Attitudes toward Refugees in Contemporary Europe: A Longitudinal Perspective on Cross-National Differences

Social Forces ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian S Czymara
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
National Differences ◽  
European Public ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Demographic Shifts ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Cross National

Abstract In 2015, the number of people seeking asylum in Europe skyrocketed. However, asylum applications were mainly concentrated in a few destination countries such as Germany, Austria, or Sweden. After the so-called EU-Turkey deal, asylum rates quickly dropped in subsequent years. I examine how these developments affected public opinion from both a static and a dynamic comparative perspective. The rapid and largely unpredicted rise in refugee numbers and their prominence in public debates make demographic changes potent drivers of out-group hostility. The analysis of data from over 50,000 individuals in 22 countries contained in the seventh and eighth waves of the European Social Survey shows that attitudes toward refugees do not simply follow trends in asylum applications. Significantly lowering refugee numbers, hence, did not counter anti-refugee sentiments in the European public. Based on intra-country variation over time, the model rather predicts an increase in negative attitudes during times of considerable demographic shifts. Deeper analyses reveal that this effect is stronger for conservative Europeans as well as for those who distrust EU-politics. Moreover, while a general willingness to help is associated with more openness toward refugees, actually experiencing foreigner inflow diminishes this link, suggesting limitations of humanitarian concerns. Results are stable across various modelling and sample choices and not driven by individual countries. In sum, these findings demonstrate the importance of temporal dynamics for the formation of attitudes toward refugees in contemporary Europe and point to potentially polarizing effects of immigration along ideological lines.

Trustees, Delegates, and Responsiveness in Comparative Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 766-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Bowler
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Large Body ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Conceptual Distinction ◽  
Citizen Preferences ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Government Responsiveness

A large body of aggregate-level work shows that government policies do indeed respond to citizen preferences. But whether citizens recognize that government is responsive is another question entirely. Indeed, a prior question is whether or not citizens value responsiveness in the way that academic research assumes they should in the first place. Using comparative data from the European Social Survey, this article examines how citizens see government responsiveness. We show that several key assumptions of the aggregate-level literature are met at the individual level. But we also present results that show that attitudes toward representation and responsiveness are colored, sometimes in quite surprising ways, by winner–loser effects. In a finding that stands in some contrast to the normative literature on the topic, we show that these sorts of short-term attitudes help shape preferences for models of representation. In particular, we show that the distinction between delegates and trustees is a conceptual distinction that has limits in helping us to understand citizen preferences for representation.

scholarly journals What Matters in a Job? A Multi-Level Study of Job Preference Orientations and the Intrinsic Quality of Work in 25 Societies

Societies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Michal Kozák
Keyword(s):  
Social Survey ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Job Preference ◽  
Intrinsic Quality ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Cross National

This paper examines cross-national differences in job preference orientations from the perspective of job quality. In particular, it investigates the extent to which preferences of workers in 25 developed societies are shaped by the intrinsic quality of jobs and its institutional determinants, as highlighted by varieties of capitalism (VoC) and power resources theory (PRT). The study uses multi-level models with country-specific random intercepts fitted to individual data from the International Social Survey Programme’s 2015 Work Orientations module, paired with institutional indicators from various sources. The results show that workers within countries tend to be oriented towards the same types of rewards that their jobs offer, with the intrinsic quality of work standing out as the most important factor of all. This logic extends to the cross-national variation in job preference orientations, which is strongly related to the average intrinsic quality of jobs in national labor markets and its institutional factors emphasized by PRT, rather than VoC.

Mapping social capital across Europe: findings, trends and methodological shortcomings of cross-national surveys

2008 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frane Adam
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
European Level ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
European Values ◽  
European Values Study ◽  
Cross National

Two sets of issues are elaborated and reflected on. The first one concerns the distribution of stocks of social capital across European (EU) nations. Using the conventional proxies like trust and associational involvement on the basis of data from cross-national surveys (European Values Study and European Social Survey as well as from Eurobarometer), the main tentative trends and patterns are outlined. The second set of issues refers to the quality and credibility of data. Concerning the first issue, it is possible to speak of four groups of countries with regard to the distribution of social capital at the European level. In contrast to authors who argue that there are no large differences in mean scores across the national patterns, this analysis arrived at more differentiated conclusions. Between the first and fourth groups, a very clear borderline can be drawn, while differences between the second and third groups are not so pronounced. In the context of the thematizing and critical reflection of the validity and comparability of the empirical evidence, some errors and inconsistencies were found. It seems that they appeared in part due to the inappropriate technical design of cross-national surveys and in part because of the countries-specific semantic-cultural as well as institutional factors, which did receive much attention either in the stage of preparing and conducting the survey or in the phase of interpreting and generalizing of the data.

scholarly journals Social capital, ‘Ghent’ and workplace contexts matter: Comparing union membership in Europe

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Ebbinghaus ◽  
Claudia Göbel ◽  
Sebastian Koos
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Union Density ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Establishment Size ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors ◽  
Cross National

Union density still varies considerably across Europe. This cross-national diversity has inspired multiple explanations ranging from institutional to workplace or socio-demographic factors. In this comparative multilevel analysis, we combine personal, workplace and macro-institutional explanations of union membership using the European Social Survey. By controlling for individual factors, we test the cross-national effect of meso- and macro-level variables, in particular workplace representation, establishment size, Ghent unemployment insurance and a society’s social capital. We conclude that all these institutional and social contextual factors matter in explaining differences in union membership.

scholarly journals Institutional trust, political participation, and corruption: A European comparative perspective

Sociologija ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-354
Author(s):  
Jovana Zafirovic ◽  
Branka Matijevic ◽  
Bozidar Filipovic
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Institutional Trust ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Post Industrial ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National

Despite the theoretical and political importance of the relationship between institutional trust and different forms of political participation in Europe, theoretical and empirical focus on post-industrial economies leave the literature wanting of explanations of cross-national variation in political participation. In this article, we test whether levels of corruption influence the relationship between institutional trust and participation. We rely on the 9th wave of the European Social Survey results for an in-depth analysis of the relationship between institutional trust, political participation, and perceived corruption in 27 countries. The multilevel regression analysis results show that the effect of institutional trust on institutionalised political participation (including voting) is moderated by corruption. However, corruption does not moderate the relationship between institutional trust and non-institutionalised forms of participation.

scholarly journals Methodological discussion of the income measure in the European Social Survey round 1

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik ◽  
Uwe Warner
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Demographic Variable ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Accurate Method ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
National Tax ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cross National

During the last decade, the number of cross-national and cross-cultural empirical research has increased; at the same time the need for comparative survey data grew considerably. Also more and more politicians and policy decision makers are looking across the national and cultural borders of their countries. Looking at the question of total net household income, we discus advantages and weaknesses of an input harmonized social survey. We demonstrate the impact of the national social, economic and legal particularities on the answering behavior of the surveyed respondent by comparing across countries the interview outcomes from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). ESS used a crude measurement of the total net household income interviewing only one randomly selected household member. ECHP surveyed all persons living in a sampled household and asked all income sources and components of the respondents and the household. In this paper we use ECHP as a reference showing the most accurate method to measure income, and compare this with the interview results of ESS. For comparative social surveys we propose a set of questions on income that takes into account the national circumstances. We get comparable data across countries reflecting the national tax systems, the particular practices in the earning structures and the national habits in summing up the different income components. We expect that such a new fieldwork instrument integrated into the data production of cross-national surveys may increase the analytical power of the comparative socio-demographic variable "total net household income".

scholarly journals Private household concepts and their operationalisation in cross-national social surveys

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juergen Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik ◽  
Uwe Warner
Keyword(s):  
Economic Status ◽  
Poverty Line ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Household Composition ◽  
Private Household ◽  
Exclusion Criteria ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Social Surveys ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Cross National

Starting with the input-harmonised and methodically controlled European Social Survey (ESS), moving on to the national censuses, and then turning our attention to the three groups participating in surveys (researchers, interviewers and respondents), we discover that the private household concept is defined in many different ways. Each of these definitions entails a different household composition. Using an example, we demonstrate how different definitions of private household (and different household compositions) affect the socio-economic status and income of the household. Ultimately, a variation in the definition of private household is enough to raise or lower the national poverty line. Our findings lead us to propose that "private household" be operationalised across countries in a way that guarantees that persons can be unequivocally assigned to households on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria.

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