Welfare Attitudes and Immigration Policy

Public attitudes towards welfare and immigration are deeply interconnected, shaping the scope and design of social protection systems in diverse contexts. Citizens’ perceptions of who merits support—whether native‐born or migrant—inform the political viability of redistributive policies and determine the inclusiveness of immigration regimes. While some view migrants as economic burdens whose presence justifies retrenchment of welfare provision, others emphasise the principles of universal solidarity and social investment that accommodate newcomers. Researchers have identified psychological drivers, such as perceived competition for resources and the moral evaluation of deservingness, alongside institutional factors like welfare regime type and migration governance structures. Comparative studies reveal that generous welfare states may face greater backlash when immigration is high, yet also possess institutional capacities to integrate migrants more effectively. Practical applications include crafting messaging strategies that highlight migrants’ contributions and revising eligibility rules to balance fiscal sustainability with social justice. By examining the dynamic interplay between public opinion, policy design and identity formation, scholars and practitioners seek to promote cohesion in increasingly mobile societies.

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Welfare Attitudes and Immigration Policy publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in welfare attitudes and immigration policy across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Welfare chauvinism: The belief that social benefits should be reserved exclusively for native citizens rather than immigrants.

Deservingness: A set of moral and economic criteria by which welfare recipients are judged to merit or forfeit public support.

Solidarity: The mutual obligation and shared identity that underpin support for redistributive welfare policies.

Ingroup: A social category with which individuals identify and within which they perceive mutual obligations of aid.

References

1. Diversity, solidarity and the construction of the ingroup among (post)colonial migrants in The Netherlands, 1945–1968. New Political Economy (2023).
2. Migration levels and welfare support: evidence from the local level. Journal of European Public Policy (2023).
3. A farewell to welfare? Conceptualising welfare populism, welfare chauvinism and welfare Euroscepticism. Journal of European Social Policy (2024).