Public opinion and the dimensions of the welfare state

Empirical studies over the last ten years indicate that the public in general still supports the welfare state but not necessarily its beneficiaries nor the allocations required to sustain its activities. Since most of these studies focused only on selected aspects of the welfare state their data do not provide a widespread and comprehensive overview of public opinion regarding the welfare state and its internal dynamics. This article focuses on public opinion with regard to the major components of the welfare state. The sample is drawn from a large urban population in Israel. For each component of the welfare state, three dimensions are studied: governmental allocation, quality of service and number of beneficiaries. The results indicate that public opinion with regard to the various elements of the welfare state is differential and distinct.