Between ideology and self-interest: exploring variations in public support for basic income schemes in Germany
Journal
Journal of Social Policy
ISSN
0047-2794
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2025-07-11
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper studies public opinion towards the introduction of a universal basic income in the case of Germany. Using novel data from a vignette survey experiment conducted in the summer of 2022, we analyse to what extent variations in the policy design characteristics of a hypothetical basic income scheme affect levels of support. We find that support for basic income strongly depends on these characteristics, with support being highest for schemes that are relatively generous, paid to citizens and long-term residents, paid to individuals rather than households, unconditional and financed with taxing the rich. In a further step, we explore interaction effects between vignette dimensions and respondent characteristics, finding significant heterogenous treatment effects in the cases of income, age and ideology.
Keywords
basic income
Germany
public opinion
ideology
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Pages
21
Contact Email Address
adrian.rinscheid@unisg.ch
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Busemeyer Rinscheid 2025_Between ideology and self-interest- exploring variations in public support for basic income schemes in Germany.pdf
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