2021/10/11 by Moa Mårtensson, Marcus Österman, Joakim Palme +1 · 1 voice · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #European Union Policy and Governance #Migration, Refugees, and Integration #Social Policy and Reform Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/13501763.2021.1981980
openalex publication_date 2021/10/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
Public attitudes towards the free movement of workers in the European Union vary substantially between countries and individuals. This paper adds to the small but growing research literature on this issue by analysing the role of national welfare institutions. We investigate the relationship between the degree of ‘institutional reciprocity’ in national systems of social protection and attitudes to EU labour immigration across 12 European countries. We do not find evidence of an effect of institutional reciprocity on opposition to EU labour immigration among the public at large. However, institutional reciprocity appears to matter for economically vulnerable groups. We identify an interaction effect indicating that higher degrees of institutional reciprocity in national social protection systems, and in unemployment insurance systems specifically, are associated with lower levels of opposition to EU labour immigration among unemployed people. Hence, reciprocity in welfare state institutions appears to shield free movement from opposition, at least among vulnerable groups.