Documents van der Waal, Jeroen 2 results

"There is a lively ongoing debate about the effects of the widespread introduction of robots in work environments. Many people in the labor market worry about inequality and possible job loss that robot technology may create. However, large-scale studies on the determinants of these perceptions are thus far lacking. This article assesses which members of the labor force are most fearful of the introduction of robots at work by using the 2012 Eurobarometer Public Attitudes towards Robots dataset, covering 11 206 respondents in 20 European countries. Our study shows that those (a) in economic positions that are more likely to be negatively affected by robotics are more likely to be fearful of robots at work, along with, to some extent, those living in countries (b) with adverse economic conditions and (c) where employees are less protected from market forces. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed."

"Various studies have demonstrated that while the lower educated support economic redistribution more than the higher educated do, they nonetheless dislike welfare support for immigrants more strongly. This paper aims to explain this remarkably particularistic application of the principle of economic egalitarianism (‘welfare chauvinism') by testing three theories by means of survey data representative of the Dutch population (N = 1972). The first theory asserts that the low level of political competence of the lower educated is responsible, the second focuses on their weak economic position, and the third claims that their limited amount of cultural capital is decisive. Only the latter explanation is confirmed and implications for debates about ethnocentrism, deservingness and welfare state legitimacy, as well as the ideological profile of the lower-educated working class are discussed. "