Full Description
For the past decade European countries have undergone a severe economic crisis, with severe consequences both for individuals and for governments. Unemployment and rising poverty have compelled individuals to reconsider their own priorities and goals, while governments have been forced to rethink social policies on the national level, as well as their international economic and political agreements. Some countries have been more deeply affected by the crisis than others, and the impact of economic shortage on individuals and governments has differed, not only because of the different magnitudes of the crisis, but also because individuals react differently to the contextual changes.
This book makes use of cross-national survey data to explore the impact of wealth and economic contexts on social values. Instead of attempting to explain how aggregate changes occur (as previous volumes have done) the chapters in this collection focus on micro-level effects to interrogate more deeply the interplay between attitudes and values - and the way both can change as a result of transformation of economic context. This book elaborates on several dimensions of value change:
the measurement model and the way it changes under the impact of economic shortage;
the connection between universal value orientations and attitudes towards different objects (e.g. the welfare state, immigrants and ethnic groups);
the effects of economic factors and vulnerability on values and attitudinal orientations;
how particular political and economic contexts produce changes in political orientations.
This book focuses on the interrelationship of social values, attitudes and economic scarcity in the context of the last economic crisis experienced by many European countries. It will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, political science and economics.
Contents
Preface Part I: Introduction 1. Values and attitudes in times of economic scarcity PART II: Stability and change of measurement model 2. Basic Human Values: Stability of Value Typology in Europe 3. Trust in political institutions: Stability of Measurement Model in Europe PART III: Values and attitudes in time of crisis: nexus and over time variation 4. Economic crisis, human values and political attitudes 5. Economic crisis, human values and attitudes towards immigrants 6. Economic crisis, human values and attitudes towards European Union 7. Economic crisis and Non-Institutionalized Political Participation 8. Economic crisis and democratic legitimacy PART IV: Case studies: higher scarcity and value change 9. Greece in times of crisis: Shaping political identification 10. Portugal in times of crisis: value change and policy representation 11. Romania in times of crisis: economic conditions and support for democracy 12. Conclusions
