Who Deserves Solidarity? Unequal Treatment of Immigrants in Swiss Welfare Policy Delivery

Abstract

Rising immigration rates in Western Europe concur with increasing anti‐immigrant attitudes. While assessments of welfare eligibility in the United States demonstrably hinge on how public servants perceive different racial groups as deserving, we know less about ethnically motivated discrimination in the European context. This paper argues that Switzerland is a critical case for studying such developments. It combines social construction theory and the deservingness heuristic to analyze how social constructions of Swiss natives and immigrants influence 90 disability benefits insurance procedures. Findings reveal that immigrants are perceived as less deserving and less powerful than Swiss applicants. Thus, Swiss welfare workers do not allocate welfare benefits independently of an applicant's nationality. Our results raise fundamental questions about the equal treatment of welfare applicants in times of rising immigration and anti‐immigrant attitudes. The feed‐forward effects of social constructions imply longer‐term consequences for good administrative practices and society that require scholarly attention.

How Do Citizens Assess Street‐Level Bureaucrats’ Warmth and Competence? A Typology and Test

“…Fourth, gender and core task did not strengthen or weaken each other's effects. This result contributes to the literature on stereotyping and discrimination (e.g., Harrits ; Jilke and Tummers ; Pedersen, Stritch, and Thuesen ; Raaphorst, Groeneveld, and Van de Walle ; Thomann and Rapp ; Yang ). It could be that other cues that were not included in the experimental design are (in)congruent and, in turn, affect a bureaucrats’ trait assessment.…”

“…This is surprising because, from the bureaucrats’ perspective, there is evidence that how citizens are judged—for instance, in terms of trust, stereotypes, or deservingness—matters during service provision. How bureaucrats assess citizens plays a role, at least to some extent, in how bureaucrats make decisions about services (Harrits ; Jilke and Tummers ; Keiser ; Pedersen, Stritch, and Thuesen ; Raaphorst, Groeneveld, and Van de Walle ; Thomann and Rapp ; Yang ).…”

Does Administrative Burden Influence Public Support for Government Programs? Evidence from a Survey Experiment

“…Historically, policies for the poor have been shaped by the desire to classify “poor people by merit” and separate the “deserving” from the “undeserving” poor (Katz ). Views of deservingness often reflect whether individuals are viewed as victims of circumstances beyond their control (see Aarøe and Petersen ; Jilke and Tummers ; Thomann and Rapp ).…”

Editorial Note

“…The influence of biases on welfare policy making and implementation is explored by Ledford () and Thomann and Rapp (). Ledford () examines agenda setting and adoption of drug testing requirements for welfare recipients among US states.…”

“…While the Ledford () and Thomann and Rapp () manuscripts empirically examine biases and inequalities, Nielsen () explores why we should be concerned with inequality. Nielsen () provides a strong theoretical justification based on a sufficiency view.…”