Abstract
Basic Income (BI) has gained traction as a potential welfare reform, yet its political feasibility remains contested. This study explores how public support for BI varies across European countries, focusing on two central policy design dimensions: conditionality (e.g., work requirements) and universality (e.g., eligibility for newcomers). Using data from a vignette experiment embedded in the 2023 Cross-National Online Survey (CRONOS) across ten European countries, we analyze how design preferences intersect with individual-level factors political ideology, economic insecurity, and welfare chauvinism. Results show robust support for conditional BI models, indicating widespread preference for linking benefits to job-seeking. In contrast, preferences regarding universality are more fragmented and context-dependent. Right-leaning and chauvinistic individuals tend to oppose universal and unconditional models, while those experiencing economic insecurity are generally more supportive—though this relationship varies across countries and BI designs.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
