Determinants of Attitudes about Economic Policy Actions 2011

The determinants of attitudes to social and economic policy issues among the population are judged very differently in the literature. On the one hand, the attitudes are attributed to self-interest, but more recent studies in particular describe the political orientation as formative. In this study, WIFO investigates the reasons for the acceptance of social and economic policy measures in Austria on the basis of a representative survey. Both the state of knowledge about the economy and the (subjective) expectations about the consequences of the measures are taken into account. The aim of this study is to examine the determinants of attitudes towards social and economic policy measures in the Austrian public. Although such questions are relevant for fundamental social and economic concepts and theories as well as for (real) political discourse, it is only in recent years that academic research has become interested in them. The (strongly) increasing interest in recent years can be explained by the fact that social and economic policy measures are increasingly the subject of public and media discourse, and that the relevant decision-making bodies are under increasing pressure to design their measures in accordance with the "will" of the public or the "majority". Since the acceptance of measures in the population can therefore sometimes determine whether and how a certain measure is implemented, it is naturally of considerable interest to the decision-making bodies how different determinants influence the formation of public opinion. Against the backdrop of an increasing proportion of "voters of change", this is especially true for political parties that want to maximize their voter potential and align their social and economic policies accordingly.学界对于民众社会经济政策态度的影响因素，现有研究结论莫衷一是。一方面，此类态度被归因于个体自利动机；而近年的研究则尤其强调政治倾向对态度的塑造作用。本研究由奥地利经济研究所（WIFO）基于一项代表性抽样调查，探究奥地利民众对社会经济政策举措的接纳动因，研究同时考量了民众的经济认知水平，以及对政策举措后果的（主观）预期。本研究的核心目标，即剖析奥地利民众社会经济政策态度的影响因素。尽管此类议题与社会经济领域的基础概念、理论及现实政治话语息息相关，但学界直至近年才对其展开关注。近年学界对此类议题的兴趣显著攀升，究其原因，在于社会经济政策举措日益成为公众与媒体热议的话题，而相关决策机构也面临越来越大的压力，需要依据民众或多数群体的"will"来制定政策举措。鉴于民众对政策举措的接纳程度，有时会直接决定某项政策能否落地、以及如何落地，因此决策机构自然极为关注各类影响因素如何左右公众舆论的形成。在"voters of change"占比日益提升的背景下，对于那些希望最大化选民潜力、并据此调整社会经济政策的政党而言，这一点尤为重要。