The moral economy of unemployment. Explaining public support for unemployment benefits in terms of program structure.

In the current era of austerity, the question of welfare state support - in this paper we refer to the question of social acceptance - has become more and more relevant. We suggest that the empirical phenomenon of social acce ptance can be explained by separating two analytical dimensions: on the one hand, social acceptance is influenced by specific structures and forms of welfare programs; on the other hand, individual predispositions, such as id eological beliefs and preferences, will have a strong impact on support. Th is analytical distinction between two aspects of acceptance (with the first dependent of welfare programs and the second independent of the system), m ay provide some insights into the question of social acceptance. This paper examines the main characteristics of income-support programs for the unemp loyed, which could be seen as important for the question of acceptance. The special quality of welfare programs eliciting support or rejection from ta xpayers and employed contributors to unemployment insurance schemes will be called acceptability. The following questions will be addressed: what qual ities of programs might have an influence on individual support and why mig ht this be? Is it possible to make assumptions about the phenomenon of soci al acceptance and the influence of this acceptability? This paper will focu s on the three main income-support programs for the unemployed: 'Arbeitslos engeld' (unemployment benefits), 'Arbeitslosenhilfe' (aid to the unemployed ) and 'Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt' (social welfare). For the question of acc eptability these programs are especially interesting because all of them of fer income maintenance in the case of unemployment, but they differ sharply in the extent of their reliance on means-testing, the generosity of their benefits, and their means of financing.