Intergenerational transmission or local labour market context? A comparative analysis of the formation of work value patterns in 65 European regions

Abstract

This article analyses the driving factors behind the formation of individual work values in European welfare states. By comparing relative preferences for extrinsic and intrinsic work values, we shed light on the discussion of the effects of intergenerational transmission and the structuring effects of labour market policies and regional opportunity structures on the formation of work values. Therefore, a multilevel analysis is applied using the innovative CUPESSE data set, which provides data on young adults and their parents in 65 NUTS-1-regions from 11 European countries. The results show that individual work values of young Europeans are most substantively shaped by the respective values of their parents. Furthermore, we demonstrate that individual characteristics such as sex, education and personal unemployment experiences determine preferences for work values. Finally, the paper shows that the local labour market context and welfare state arrangements also play a decisive role in the formation of individual work values.