Economic determinants of public support for European integration, 1995–2018

Abstract

European support for integration is shaped by a range of economic, cultural, and political factors. However, in recent decades, scholars have argued that utilitarian calculations have become less important as European integration has advanced, and political entrepreneurs have mobilized nationalist identities. We analyze 24 years of responses to the Eurobarometer (1995–2018) to assess the influence of economic factors on public attitudes toward European integration. We find strong evidence that utilitarian factors are important across the entire panel. The performance of the macro-economy, as measured by unemployment, and an individual’s position in the labor market, are consistent predictors of public support for and satisfaction with the European Union. Collective identity is also associated with attitudes toward the European Union. However, an individual’s identity is also shaped by economic circumstances.

Opting for opt outs? - Untangling the role of identity in shaping support for differentiated integration

“…This opposition is typically found among those identifying only with their nation-states. There are also interdependencies between the utilitarian and identarian dimension, with economic conditions shaping collective identities (Foster and Frieden 2021). This article turns its empirical gaze to a comparatively under-theorized phenomenon: public opinion regarding differentiated integration, and what role identity plays in shaping support for it.…”

“…I make the assumption, supported by a broad literature (Bruter 2003;Foster and Frieden 2021;Kuhn and Nicoli 2020;Stråth 2002;Verhaegen and Hooghe 2015), that European identity is galvanized by both economic threat and political ideology. This means that a European or national identity is formed by these factors, rather than vice versa.…”

Tracing the development of nationalist attitudes in the EU

“…Most of the research on EU attitudes looks at the economic or the identitybased determinants of EU support. Foster and Frieden (2021) build on this work by investigating the extent to which economic conditions shape an individual's national identity. Of note, "professionals and the highly educated are less likely to identify exclusively with their nation state, while the unemployed and less educated more are likely".…”

“…Second, from a practical perspective, no single journal issue or volume can fully examine all aspects of various identities, spanning regional, national, and supranational identities, and their linkages with economic, institutional, political, factors as well as the influence of elites and current issues on mass views about integration. We therefore settled on six topics that examine key aspects that underlie national identities: the way that personality types shape preferences about national attachments (Curtis and Miller, 2021), how populist preferences drive a wedge between nation states and the EU in the minds of publics (Rooduijn et al, 2021); what type of identity conceptions are actually compatible with EU support (Aichholzer et al, 2021), the way pressing economic (Foster and Frieden, 2021) and migration issues (Van der Brug and Harteveld, 2021) affect national identities; and how party competition keeps national divisions alive even as international issues become more central in European parliamentary elections (Jackson and Jolly, 2021).…”

Till austerity do us part? A survey experiment on support for the euro in Italy

“…The experience of the crisis and austerity did not only contribute to a large amount of electoral volatility and protests (Alonso and Ruiz-Rufino, 2020; Bremer et al., 2020), but it also weakened support for the euro (Hobolt and Wratil, 2015) and influenced the result of the 2015 Greek referendum on the bailout package (Jurado et al., 2020; Xezonakis and Hartmann, 2020). Given that utilitarian considerations remain strong predictors of public support for European integration (Foster and Frieden, 2021), we expect that individuals presented with a scenario that requires Italy to implement austerity due to EU conditionality would increase their support for euro exit. It remains an open question whether the decline in support is large enough to tip the balance in favour of exit. H1 : Public support for Italexit is higher when voters are informed that the government is required to implement EU-enforced austerity measures as a condition for financial assistance.Second, the eurozone is a complex institutional architecture, which blurs lines of responsibility.…”