Near Is My Shirt but Nearer Is My Skin: Ideology or Self-Interest as Determinants of Public Opinion on Fiscal Policy Issues

TY - JOUR

T1 - Near Is My Shirt but Nearer Is My Skin

T2 - Ideology or Self-Interest as Determinants of Public Opinion on Fiscal Policy Issues

AU - Pitlik, Hans

AU - Schwarz, Gerhard

AU - Bechter, Barbara

AU - Brandl, Bernd

PY - 2011/5

Y1 - 2011/5

N2 - P>Empirical studies often derive that personal attitudes toward policy measures are dominated by ideology instead of narrow self-interest. In the present field study we carried out a telephone survey with 1,003 respondents all over Austria. Instead of measuring selfishness indirectly by using more or less 'objective indicators' for self-interest, we requested that respondents directly assess whether they expect to be affected by policy measures. Our results indicate that subjectively measured self-interest explains attitudes toward economic policies at least as well as ideological conviction. In some cases ideology appears to determine whether people feel affected by a proposed policy measure. This supports the notion of a co-incidence of self-interest and moral arguments in low cost decisions.

AB - P>Empirical studies often derive that personal attitudes toward policy measures are dominated by ideology instead of narrow self-interest. In the present field study we carried out a telephone survey with 1,003 respondents all over Austria. Instead of measuring selfishness indirectly by using more or less 'objective indicators' for self-interest, we requested that respondents directly assess whether they expect to be affected by policy measures. Our results indicate that subjectively measured self-interest explains attitudes toward economic policies at least as well as ideological conviction. In some cases ideology appears to determine whether people feel affected by a proposed policy measure. This supports the notion of a co-incidence of self-interest and moral arguments in low cost decisions.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79954533162&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-6435.2011.00506.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1467-6435.2011.00506.x

M3 - Article

SN - 0023-5962

VL - 64

SP - 271

EP - 290

JO - Kyklos

JF - Kyklos

IS - 2

ER -