Who cares for the poor in Europe?: Micro and macro determinants for alleviating poverty in 15 European countries

Abstract

The present study aims to answer research questions on people's willingness to donate money to help alleviate poverty. First, what are the individual (or micro) determinants and state-level (macro) determinants of welfare states that influence people's willingness to donate money to the poor? Second, to what extent do individual determinants for donating money to the poor interact with state-level determinants? To answer these two questions, the 1993 Eurobarometer survey is used, containing relevant data on nearly 14,000 inhabitants from 15 European countries. Hypotheses are tested using logistic multi-level analyses. The results show that religion, economic situation, political stances and types of welfare regimes influence people's willingness to help the poor. Interestingly, education and living conditions interact with types of welfare regimes.