Public opinion, prejudice and the racialization of welfare in Canadaстатья из журнала
Аннотация: AbstractDrawing on a unique survey experiment in the 2011 Canadian Election Study data set, this paper examines the ways in which racial cues influence attitudes towards redistributive policy. While work in the USA points to a strong racialization of welfare attitudes, little research explores the ways in which racial cues may structure attitudes about welfare elsewhere. In the Canadian context, Aboriginal peoples have faced both historic persecution and continue to face severe discrimination. They also experience much higher levels of poverty than other groups in Canada. Our results examine the effect that (hypothetical) Aboriginal recipients have on public support for social assistance. Results suggest that respondents' support for redistribution is lower when recipients are Aboriginal rather than white. As we have seen in the USA, then, support for welfare is related to racialized perceptions about those who benefit from social assistance.Keywords: welfarepublic opinionAboriginal peoplesCanadasocial assistanceracial cues AcknowledgementsThe collection of the data used for this project, the Canadian Election Study, was made possible through the generous support of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council and Elections Canada.Notes1. It should be noted that little evidence of this culture of dependence is actually found among welfare recipients (Schneider and Jacoby Citation2005).2. Along with media coverage, there is other evidence that the race frame is further perpetuated in educational textbooks that similarly over-represent blacks when addressing poverty (Clawson Citation2000; Clawson and Kegler Citation2002).3. The empirical evidence that racial attitudes matter for welfare opinions in the USA is substantial, although the specific mechanisms linking racial attitudes to welfare remain contested. One of the major sources of contention is whether attitudes towards welfare are politically correct ways to express racial discrimination (as in the symbolic politics approach) or if opposition to welfare is more directly linked to attitudes about equality and individualism (Sniderman et al. Citation1996).4. This is evident in recent work suggesting that black welfare recipients are disproportionately punished for 'deviant' behaviour – Schram and colleagues (Citation2009) find that in fictional vignettes of welfare recipients, blacks are punished more severely by case managers for prior sanctions than whites.5. Aboriginal peoples (including First Nations, Métis and Inuit) account for almost 4% of the Canadian population. The population is increasingly urban, with 54% living in urban areas, and Winnipeg has the largest urban population, followed by Edmonton (Statistics Canada Citation2006).6. While both on- and off-reserve communities face serious social problems, those off-reserve tend to be better off (median income in the 1996 census was $12,400, 40% higher than on-reserve, but well below the non-Aboriginal average of $19,400). These differences are more pronounced among men than among women (Drost and Richards Citation2003, 2–3). The worse differentials are in the prairies. Both on- and off-reserve incomes relative to non-Aboriginals declined from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s (Drost and Richards Citation2003, 4).7. While they receive more social assistance, it should be noted that they receive less unemployment and pension benefits than non-Aboriginals, both contribution-based programmes.8. The causes for this poverty are debated, but many authors point to colonialism and the subsequent destruction of Aboriginal communities. The RCAP notes how historical self-sufficiency was destroyed through loss of control over land and resources and unequal access to economic activities, business, education and training (see also Kendall Citation2001; Cornell Citation2006).9. Note that while the immigrant frame receives similar use across media outlets (ranging from 4% to 11%), the Aboriginal frame was particularly evident in the Winnipeg Free Press (18%) compared to the other newspapers analysed (4%–10%).10. Note, however, that Berry and Kalin (Citation1995) show that natives are not the least liked on the Canadian ethnic hierarchy, although they are clearly disadvantaged with respect to the people from the historic colonial powers.11. The 2011 Canadian Election Study (CES) was fielded by the Institute for Social Research at York University, under the supervision of David Northrup. The campaign response rate was 41%. The Random Digit Dialing (RDD) sample is only weighted based on provincial population estimates and the number of household members. Questionnaires, data and technical documentation can be obtained from http://ces-eec.org. The experiment was conducted in an online survey of a representative sample of Canadian adults participating in the 2011 CES. All respondents were originally drawn into the study through an RDD telephone survey; a minority comprised panellists recruited during the 2004, 2006 and 2008 Canadian federal elections. Respondents completed a telephone survey during the campaign period and another in the weeks following the election. They were then administered both a mail-back survey and an online survey. Of 4,308 respondents to the first 2011 CES wave, 767 completed the online survey. The sample for the online survey largely reflected the demographics of the original campaign wave, although it was slightly older and significantly more educated.12. Since we only have a male recipient in the experiment, we are not able to test whether there is also a gender effect, as suggested by past research.13. The inclusion of other variables should have little impact on the effect of the experimental treatment since respondents are assigned randomly to treatments. Results confirm that this is the case here. Preliminary analyses also suggest that demographics are similar across treatment groups. Results are available upon request and CES data are readily available through the Canadian Opinion Research Archive (http://www.queensu.ca/cora).14. The impact of other racial/ethnic groups in Canada seems particularly worth pursuing given that, among white respondents, thermometer scores for Aboriginal people are not markedly lower than those for 'racial minorities'. In the 2011 CES, mean scores for Aboriginal people and racial minorities are 78 and 77 for white anglophones, and 66 and 68 for white francophones (see also Berry and Kalin Citation1995).Additional informationNotes on contributorsAllison HarellALLISON HARELL is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal.Stuart SorokaSTUART SOROKA is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University.Kiera LadnerKIERA LADNER is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba.
Год издания: 2013
Авторы: Allison Harell, Stuart Soroka, Kiera L. Ladner
Издательство: Routledge
Источник: Ethnic and Racial Studies
Ключевые слова: Migration, Refugees, and Integration, Social Policy and Reform Studies, Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
Открытый доступ: closed
Том: 37
Выпуск: 14
Страницы: 2580–2597