ATTITUDES ON MEANS-TESTED SOCIAL BENEFITS IN FINLAND

The paper examines the attitudes of different socio-economic groups to ward means-testing. By using data from an opinion survey of 1,117 Finn s, the study seeks to answer the following questions: Are universal so cial benefits more popular than selective ones? Who are the most vigor ous opponents of means-testing, the middle classes or blue-collar work ers? Results give some support to the hypothesis that selective benefi ts are the most unpopular. The study also shows that opinions on selec tivity do not cluster in one dimension, but that there are several asp ects of selectivity and that the attitudes of socio-economic groups va ry depending on which aspect of selectivity is at stake. The working c lass and Social Democrats have more reservations toward selectivity wh ich targets the needy, whereas they are more eager to introduce select ivity into universal welfare programs by discriminating against high-i ncome earners. Salaried employees and voters of the Conservative Party are more reluctant to exclude well-to-do people from universal benefi ts, whereas they accept tighter means-testing in currently means- or i ncome-tested schemes.