Steffen Mau

Migration and welfare state solidarity in Western Europe

In recent decades Western Europe has had to face increasing migration levels resulting in a more diverse population. As a direct consequence, the question of adequate inclusion of immigrants into the welfare state has arisen. At the same time it has been asked whether the inclusion of non-nationals or migrants into the welfare state may undermine the solidaristic basis and legitimacy of welfare state redistribution. Citizens who are in general positive about the welfare state may adopt a critical view if migrants are granted equal access. Using data from the European Social Survey (2002/2003) for European OECD Countries we examine the relationship between ethnic diversity and public social expenditure, welfare state support and attitudes towards immigrants among European citizens. The results indicate only weak negative correlations between ethnic diversity and public social expenditure levels. Multilevel regression models with support for the welfare state and attitudes towards the legal inclusion of immigrants as dependent variables in fact reveal a negative influence of ethnic diversity. However, when controlling for migration in combination with other contextual factors, especially GDP, the unemployment rate and welfare regime seem to have a mediating influence.

Welfare Regimes and the Norms of Social Exchange

The article highlights the normative underpinning of acts of social giving. The propensity to engage in a costly collective endeavour is strongly enhanced by reciprocity assumptions. People are not solely self-regarding but also care for the well-being of others and express support for the moral purposes of welfare programmes. To identify the conditions under which people tend to support or object to redistributive policies we need to shed light on the specific reciprocity norms that affect social exchanges. What people expect in return for their contribution may vary in value and kind. Specific reciprocity norms determine which type of reciprocal returns within welfare exchanges are perceived as appropriate and satisfying. A taxonomy of reciprocity norms is used to distinguish between different policies.

Social Transnationalism : Lifeworlds Beyond The Nation-State

1. Introduction Part 1: From National Containers to Transnational Social Spaces 2. The Nation-State as Container? 3. Globalization, De-Nationalization, and World Society 4. Transnationalism and Transmigration 5. Transnationalization from Below 6. From Presence to Absence 7. Spaces and Networks of Border-Crossing Part 2: The Cartography of Transnational Social Relations 8. The Geographic Range of German Transnational Social Networks 9. Family Networks: Closeness with Distance 10. Mobility across Borders 11. Student Mobility on the Global Campus 12. International Tourism: People on the Move 13. Transnationalization of the Immobile Part 3: Transnationalism and the New Cosmopolitanism 14. The Cosmopolitan Perspective 15. Attribution of Responsibility 16. Attitudes towards Foreigners 17. Transnational Trust 18. Identity: From National to Supranational? 19. Globalization: Threat or Promise? Part 4: Unequal Transnationalism 20. Fragmentation through Transnationalism? 21. Transnationalism of the Masses or of the Elites? 22. Divided Transnationalism: West versus East? 23. Global City and Provincial Province? 24. Younger Generations as Movers of Social Transnationalism 25. Gender and Transnational Involvement Part 5: Conclusion 26. Social Transnationalism: Reconfiguring Society and State-Relations

European societies : mapping structure and change

Introduction and conceptual considerations Part one: The European social model from a historical perspective: Commonalities and intra-European exchange Socio-structural characteristics of European societies Part two: European societies compared: Political-economic models and institutional arrangements Population and family Migration Labour market and employment Education Social inequality Quality of life Part three: European integration and European society in the making: Institutional and political aspects of Europeanisation The dynamics of inequality in Europe Horizontal Europeanisation Subjective Europeanisation Conclusion: rise of a European society?

Giving Social Ties, Reciprocity in Modern Society

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the meaning of giftgiving and reciprocity in modern society and thereby following the pointers left by Marcel Mauss. A critique will be made of the dichotomy of self-interest and normatively orientated action that forms the basis of sociology. For this conceptual dichotomization has caused forms of social interaction that cannot be localized either on the side of self-interest or on that of morality. It is the logic of the gift and the reciprocity thus evoked that in our view accompanies and structures all forms of interaction, from the social micro to the macrolevel. It is shown that in modern societies gifts and reciprocities form their own orders of interaction, and not only on a microsocial level. The principle of reciprocity even accompanies as a rule transfers owing to (state) compulsion as well as economic, selective exchange. As a basic principle of processes of sociation it is, fundamentally, present everywhere and in some areas it is explicitly and openly in effect (for example in welfare state transfers). Sociology has for too long overlooked the fact that this principle cannot be traced back either to normativist or to utilitarian explanations and nevertheless represents a principle of construction of modern societies.

Globalization, socio-economic status and welfare chauvinism: European perspectives on attitudes toward the exclusion of immigrants:

This article addresses the question of whether globalization impacts individual preferences to exclude immigrants from national welfare systems (‘welfare chauvinism’). Intergroup contact theory and arguments from the ‘new cosmopolitanism’ debate suggest that cross-border social contacts (‘social globalization’) foster a willingness to include and accept newcomers. However, group conflict theory suggests that trade openness (‘economic globalization’) can unleash feelings of insecurity and trigger welfare chauvinism. While these approaches point in different directions, we argue that the impact of globalization on welfare chauvinism differs across socio-economic status groups. Using cross-national data from the European Social Survey 2008/2009, we find scarce support for the hypothesis that social globalization reduces welfare chauvinism in general. However, there is evidence that it diminishes exclusionary attitudes among those with relatively high socio-economic statuses. Moreover, we find no general evidence for an impact of economic globalization on chauvinism, but a positive interaction of intensified engagement with global market forces and higher socio-economic status.

Horizontal europeanisation in contextual perspective : what drives cross-border activities within the European Union?

In the current discourse it is frequently stated that in the course of European integration and globalisation we witness more intensified and more frequent transactions spanning across national borders. These assumptions relate not only to transactions in the economic sphere or to forms of political co-operation, but to the individual lifeworlds as well. Yet concerning the latter dimension, research into the patterns and dynamics of interpersonal interaction, relationships, and forms of mobility across national borders is scarce. This paper is a contribution towards filling this research lacuna. It addresses the question of the extent to which horizontal Europeanisation, understood as different forms of individual cross-border activities within the European Union, depends on characteristics at the country level. From a comparative perspective we will analyse the transnational mobility and cross-border networks of European citizens within a European context. Empirically, we refer to data from the Eurobarometer 65.1 (2006), which allows us to answer the question how certain contextual variables, such as internationalisation, modernisation, and characteristics such as the respective countrys geography, affect peoples participation in cross-border activities. Based on a sample of 25 European countries, we will demonstrate that geographic characteristics drive social transnationalism less than internationalisation, Europeanisation, and modernisation, which contribute to a proliferation of individual transnational activities across the European Union.

Europe from the Bottom: Assessing Personal Gains and Losses and its Effects on EU Support

Numerous authors have highlighted utilitarian considerations as sources of public support for the European Union, suggesting that support results primarily from cost-benefit calculations of the gains and losses associated with integration. Benefits accrue, not only to different member states, but also to individuals. Within this discussion it is often suggested that the gains and losses are unevenly distributed across social groups, with the higher status groups being privileged and the lower status groups disadvantaged. This paper challenges arguments that assume a clear division between lower social strata and higher social strata in terms of winning and losing in Europeanization; it looks more closely at how Europeans rate the integration process as it affects them personally, and how this influences their support for integration. The results show that socio-economic characteristics cannot fully explain peoples perceptions of being winners or losers, and a large proportion of EU citizens do not consider themselves either winners or losers. The paper also demonstrates that the winner/loser self-characterization is indeed a major determinant of support for the EU, but that it only partly coincides with peoples socio-economic position. One of the premises upon which the European Union is built is that it will enhance the welfare of its Member States and their citizens. This promise not only appeals to the governments of the Member States which have initiated the integration process, it is also supposed to have an influence on the citizens and their willingness to support integration policies. However, the European integration process is by no means a win-win project, but rather creates both winners and losers. With regard to the impact of European integration on peoples living conditions, one can identify a variety of ways in which Europe has become a determinant of the tangible aspects of peoples lives, for example through changes in

Welfare States: Construction, Deconstruction, Reconstruction

In this three-volume collection Leibfried and Mau have gathered together the most vital articles about the welfare state and its ‘reformation’ written since the mid-1970s. Their choices and organizing principles bring coherence and additional insight to these articles which, together, provide a comprehensive presentation of all the key empirical, conceptual and normative issues.

The Global Mobility Divide: How Visa Policies Have Evolved over Time

While visa policies are the major instrument for regulating and controlling the global flow of people, little is known about how they have changed over time. Accordingly, scholars have expressed the need for large-N data-sets which cover more than one point in time. This article takes up this challenge and presents for the first time a global overview of the changes in visa waiver policies based on a newly created database containing the visa waiver policies of over 150 countries for 1969 and 2010. We find that, on average, visa-free mobility has increased over the past 40 years. However, not everybody has benefited from these developments. In fact, visa waivers are increasingly unequally divided: while citizens of OECD countries and rich countries have gained mobility rights, mobility rights for other regions have stagnated or even diminished, in particular for citizens from African countries. Overall, we find a clear bifurcation in mobility rights, leading to a ‘global mobility divide’.