Trends In Public Support Research Articles

Public support for obesity prevention policies in Western Australia from 2012 to 2020: Findings from cross-sectional surveys.

This study explored trends in public support for obesity prevention policies in Western Australia (WA). A series of cross-sectional surveys of a representative sample of WA adults aged 25-49 years (N = 11 534) were undertaken between 2012 and 2020 as part of an evaluation of the LiveLighter® mass media campaign, a component of a statewide healthy lifestyle education and promotion programme. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were used to gauge support for a range of obesity prevention initiatives that could be implemented by government. A majority of respondents supported a range of obesity prevention policies, including taxes on sugary drinks, urban planning regulations, food labelling and packaging regulations, restrictions on advertising and sponsorship, bans on the sale and marketing of unhealthy food and drink in retail environments and support for education and campaigns. Obesity prevention policies were highly supported by women, people with a healthy weight, and those who had completed secondary school. Support for regulation was high compared to other studies. Notably, there were significant increases in support between baseline and 2020 for 'taxing soft drinks and using the money to reduce the cost of healthy food' (72% cf. 80%) and 'restricting junk food promotions/advertisements on public transport' (73% cf. 83%). There is substantial public support for regulatory action on obesity prevention in WA, providing strong rationale for government interventions to improve nutrition and reduce obesity. The LiveLighter® programme may have contributed to increases in support for obesity prevention policies in WA. SO WHAT?: There is potential to implement robust obesity prevention policies in WA.

The Polls-Trends: Welfare Regimes and Support for Income Redistribution in Europe.

Income redistribution and changes in redistributive policies are highly contested issues that often have a bearing on societal debate and electoral competition. Using European Social Survey data, we trace trends in public attitudes toward income redistribution in 18 European countries from 2002 to 2019, a time period which included the Great Recession, the 2015 migrant crisis, and an increase in income inequality. Although attitudes toward income redistribution were relatively stable, trends presented by countries grouped by welfare regime display considerable variation both among countries and among welfare regimes. We also trace trends in public support for redistribution by income groups and gauge the strength of belief in meritocracy and egalitarianism. The level of redistribution support among middle-income residents is similar to redistribution support of low-income residents, most notably in post-communist and social-democratic regimes. While egalitarianism is most widespread in the Mediterranean regime, meritocracy is most common in liberal and conservative regimes.

Trends in Public Support for Welfare Spending: How the Economy Matters

AbstractAs spending on welfare in the United States has increased over time, preferences for more spending have remained fairly stationary. Given that previous research shows that the public adjusts its welfare spending preference thermostatically in response to welfare spending, the over-time pattern of preferences implies that something must be producing an increase in public support, but what? We address this question, focusing on individuals' demographics and a set of aggregate economic variables, both macroeconomic and distributional. Results reveal that individual-level factors matter little to the temporal variation and aggregate economics matter a lot: there are pro-cyclical and counter-cyclical elements in spending preferences and a dampening effect of income inequality over time. The combination of these variables accounts for the underlying trend in welfare spending preferences in the US, and the method used to reveal these dynamics can be used to analyze preference evolution in other spending domains and countries.

European Union citizens\u2019 views on development assistance for developing countries, during the recent migrant crisis in Europe

BackgroundDevelopment assistance from governments of high income countries represents the vast majority of international funding for global health. Recent stagnation of this important source of funding may affect attainment of major global health goals. The financial crisis is widely accredited as denting governments’ outlay for development aid, as well as citizen’s support for aid. Europe has also recently experienced record levels of migration; the so called ‘European migration crisis’. This study aims to analyse trends in public attitudes towards development aid in European Union (EU) countries, in the context of the European migrant crisis.MethodsEurobarometer survey data from 2011 (prior to the migrant crisis) and 2015 (at the peak of the crisis) was analysed for 27 EU countries. The outcome variables related to people’s levels of support to three statements around the importance of supporting people in developing countries, increasing countries’ commitments to aid and willingness to pay extra for products from developing countries. EU Member States were categorised as ‘arrival’ or ‘destination’ countries in view of migration routes and numbers of asylum applications per 100,000 population, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed, adjusting for countries’ economic status (gross domestic product per capita).ResultsIn general, support for development aid has increased from 2011 to 2015, but was largely unaffected by migration status when applying the regression model. In 2015, the belief that development assistance is ‘very important’ was significantly higher in countries where migrants first arrived compared to other EU Member States, with a trend towards this association also apparent in 2011.ConclusionsThe positive trends in public support for development aid are encouraging in an age where economic hardships at home, as well as the tone of national political discourses and rising right wing populism appear to suggest otherwise.

Main development trends in public support of business research and development in Czechia

Abstract The article aims at identifying main structural characteristics and development trends of business R&D support in the Czech Republic in the period 2007–2015 and their assessment in light of the development of total R&D expenditures in the business sector. Possible impacts of business research support on R&D expenditure from own resources of businesses and on R&D employment are also examined at the level of individual economic sectors. The volume of support annually allocated from the state budget to non-investment R&D activities of businesses culminated between 2009 and 2012. Compared to domestic companies, the companies in foreign ownership obtained only a quarter of public support but their share in total R&D expenditures in the business sector exceeds over a long period the share of domestic companies. Moreover, the difference has further grown in the last years mainly due to rapid increase of private funding from abroad. As regards to the size of businesses the reduction of public funding in the last years occurred primarily in the group of large businesses. However, the decreasing volume of public funding impacted only minimally on large businesses while the reliance of medium and especially small businesses on public resources is considerably higher. Substantial amounts of R&D support from the state budget were allocated particularly to high-tech and medium high-tech industries: manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products; manufacture of machinery; and manufacture of other transport equipment. Unlike in the majority of industrial branches where the absolute annual amounts of public support decreased during the last years, the amounts allocated to the sector of IT services grew significantly. Neither increase of R&D expenditure from own resources of businesses nor increase of R&D employment indicate dependence on the share of domestic public resources in BERD at the level of NACE branches.

Returning to Europe as Reluctant Europeans: Revisiting Trends in Public Support for the European Union in Central and Eastern Europe Twelve Years after the 2004 EU Accession

This paper examines less discussed aspects of Euroscepticism in Eastern Europe as a component of the institutional history of the 2004 EU enlargement. A focus on public support for European integration allows us to evaluate the consequences of the EU’s enlargement policy from the perspective of democratic legitimacy, as public attitudes demonstrate how institutions live up to the expectations of the citizens in a democratic setting. It also allows us to relate the legislative history of the eastward enlargement to its social impact and domestic political implications. The paper posits Euroscepticism as an unexpected outcome of the legal-institutional implementation of the EU enlargement policy. It argues that while East-European Euroscepticism defies clear categorisation as it fails to demonstrate consistent longitudinal trends not consistent across its performance evaluation, identity, and democratic legitimacy dimensions, it is indicative of the disconnect between the adjustment dynamics of the EU accession of Eastern Europe, accomplished at the elite level, and the broad-based public response to it. The core of East-European Euroscepticism is declining public trust in the European Union, its policies, institutions, and the economic benefits it generates against the background of general dissatisfaction with the workings of national and European democracy. The East-European publics have become increasingly sceptical of their representation as citizens whose voice ‘counts’ in the EU. They perceive the EU as less relevant to their personal situation although it represents well the interests of the Member States. Such contradictory evidence suggests that the conventional measures of Euroscepticism as a pan-European phenomenon need to be re-examined by exploring trends of continuity and change in public support for the EU in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of the 2004 enlargement.

Legislating for weight-based equality: national trends in public support for laws to prohibit weight discrimination

The prevalence of weight discrimination in the United States has led to increasing calls for legal measures to address weight-based inequities on a broader scale. This study examined public support in 2014 and 2015 for three proposed laws prohibiting weight discrimination, and compared findings with public attitudes towards the same laws from 2011 to 2013. An online survey was completed by a diverse national sample of US adults (N=2411) in June-July of 2014 and 2015 to assess their support for anti-discrimination legislation. Public support increased for the anti-discrimination laws from 2014 to 2015, and at least 71% of participants expressed support for each of the laws in both years. Compared with public support documented in 2011-2013, there was a significant increase in support in 2014-2015 for legislation to extend disability protections to individuals with obesity and for laws that would include body weight in existing state civil rights statutes. Consistently, high levels of support (78%) were documented across this 5-year period for laws to address weight-based discrimination in employment. As public approval is a powerful catalyst motivating political will needed to make policy changes, these findings provide important insights and implications for advancing policy-level discourse about remedies for weight discrimination.

Current trends in public support for elective oocyte cryopreservation

As oocyte cryopreservation (OC) is now an established method to preserve fertility for women due to health, aging or other factors, our aim was to determine whether there is public support for this treatment and if support varies by demographic factors.

Attitudes towards legalising physician provided euthanasia in Britain: The role of religion over time

Hastening the death of another whether through assisted suicide or euthanasia is the subject of intense debate in the UK and elsewhere. In this paper we use a nationally representative survey of public attitudes – the British Social Attitudes survey – to examine changes in attitudes to the legalisation of physician provided euthanasia (PPE) over almost 30 years (1983–2012) and the role of religious beliefs and religiosity in attitudes over time. Compatible questions about attitudes to euthanasia were available in the six years of 1983, 1984, 1989, 1994, 2005, and 2012. We study the trends in the support for legalisation through these time points and the relationship between attitudes, religious denomination and religiosity, controlling for a series of covariates. In total, 8099 individuals provided answers to the question about PPE in the six years of the study. The support for legalisation rose from around 76.95% in 1983 to 83.86% in 2012. This coincided with an increase in secularisation exhibited in the survey: the percentage of people with no religious affiliation increasing from 31% to 45.4% and those who do not attend a religious institution (e.g. church) increasing from 55.7% to 65.03%. The multivariate analysis demonstrates that religious affiliation and religiosity as measured by religious institution attendance frequency are the main contributors to attitudes towards euthanasia, and that the main increase in support happened among the group with least religious affiliation. Other socio-demographic characteristics do not seem to alter these attitudes systematically across the years. Our study demonstrates an increase in the support of euthanasia legalisation in Britain in the last 30 years coincided with increased secularisation. It does not follow, however, that trends in public support are immutable nor that a change in the law would improve on the current pragmatic approach toward hastening death by a physician adopted in England and Wales in terms of the balance between compassion and safeguards against abuse offered.

Support for a tobacco endgame strategy in 18 European countries

ObjectiveThe feasibility of a tobacco endgame strategy, aiming to bring smoking prevalence to near-zero levels, is currently under debate. We provide information on public support for such a strategy in Europe. MethodsIn 2010 we conducted a face-to-face representative survey in 18 European countries (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden). The present analysis is based on 16,947 individuals aged ≥15years providing information on their attitudes towards a complete ban on the use or sale of tobacco. ResultsOverall, 34.9% of adults (32.8% in men and 37.0% in women; p<0.001) supported a complete ban strategy on use or sale of tobacco, 41.2% of never, 29.4% of ex- and 25.6% of current smokers. The highest support was observed in southern Europe (42.5%), followed by eastern (39.1%), northern (27.5%) and western Europe (23.0%; p<0.001). A significant inverse trend was observed with both age and education. ConclusionApproximately one in three adults (and one in four smokers) supports a comprehensive tobacco endgame intervention. This first study in Europe provides a baseline for evaluating future trends in public support for extreme propositions to end or drastically cut smoking.

A review of public opinion towards alcohol controls in Australia

BackgroundIncreasing concern about the negative impact of alcohol on the Australian community has renewed calls for tighter regulatory controls. This paper reviews levels of and trends in public support for liquor control regulations, regulation of alcohol promotions, and alcohol pricing and taxation reforms in Australia between 1998 and 2009.MethodsSix electronic databases and twenty public health and alcohol organisation websites were searched for research literature, reports and media releases describing levels of public support for alcohol controls. Only studies which randomly selected participants were included.ResultsTwenty-one studies were included in the review. The majority of the Australian public support most proposed alcohol controls. Levels of support are divided between targeted and universal controls.ConclusionsImplementation of targeted alcohol policies is likely to be strongly supported by the Australian public, but universal controls are liable to be unpopular. Policy makers are provided with insights into factors likely to be associated with higher public support.

Is Support for Traditionally Designed Communities Growing? Evidence From Two National Surveys

Problem: Many voices within the planning community have called for replacement of the dominant model of suburban development with a more traditional style of development. Traditionally designed communities, featuring a mix of residential and commercial land uses and pedestrian connections between these uses, offer many potential environmental, social, and health benefits. Adoption of policies that encourage traditionally designed communities depends in part on public support, but evidence on the extent and nature of such support is largely anecdotal. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess trends in public support for traditionally designed communities and to provide insights into factors associated with that support. Methods: The study uses data from comparable surveys of nationally representative samples of American households in 2003 and 2005. The surveys described a traditionally designed community and asked respondents, “How much would you support the development of communities like this in your area?” The survey also included questions on respondents' sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes on a variety of issues, expectations about the likelihood traditionally designed communities would have certain characteristics, and how important these characteristics were to them. Results and conclusions: In 2003, 44% of respondents expressed support for developing traditionally designed communities in the areas where they lived. This support increased significantly to 59% in 2005. Support was strong among all groups except rural residents, and increased among all groups between 2003 and 2005. This support was positively related to expectations that such communities would be child-friendly and negatively related to expectations that they would have space limitations. Respondents perceived such communities as likely to allow older people to live independently, and they also rated this characteristic as highly important. Takeaway for practice: Public support for developing traditionally designed communities is strong, widespread, and growing. Although such communities find less support in rural areas and raise concerns over limited space, they have appeal as child- and elderly-friendly places. Though there is evidence that supply of traditionally designed communities does not meet demand, this evidence of growing support may foster policy changes that will help to close the gap. Research support: This research was funded by the Active Living Research Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Political support in the baltic states, 1993–2004

The object of this article is to map trends in public support for Baltic political regimes during the transition period. Using a multidimensional model of political support, the article tracks trends in identification with the political community, approval of regime principles, evaluations of regime performance, and trust in political institutions. The results suggest that popular satisfaction with Baltic political regimes is increasing, presumably as a result of improved economic and political performance. However, there are three reasons for concern: frustration with parliaments and political parties is widespread, the ‘attitudinal consolidation’ of democracy remains incomplete, and there is a significant ethnic gap in popular regime evaluations in Latvia and Estonia.

Trends in public support for smoking bans in public places in Australia

Trends in public support for smoking bans in public places in Australia

Trends in public support for smoking bans in public places in Australia

Trends in public support for smoking bans in public places in Australia

Public Support for University Funding: Trends and Determinants in Ontario, 1980-1990

This paper examines trends in public support for government funding of universities over the past decade, identifies significant social factors related to attitudes on university funding during this period, and briefly discusses possible future tendencies in public support for university funding. Growing public support for increased university funding in Ontario is documented. A variety of types of potential influences is assessed, including societal context, socio-economic status, demographic and political orientation factors. Age, educational attainment, and community size, as well as support for general government spending, are found to have significant individual-level effects on support for university funding. Multi-variate analyses suggest a growing isolation of older, less formally educated and rural people as opponents of increased university funding. The implications of these patterns in the context of an aging but increasingly educated population are then considered.

Postmaterialism, Cognitive Mobilization and Public Support for European Integration

This article reviews the trends in public support for European integration in West Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain. The first conclusion is that the picture one gets depends heavily on the indicator one uses to measure support. This finding is probably a consequence of the fact that many people are only dimly aware of the issue. Furthermore, it appears that there are striking cross-national differences in support and in the development of support through time. To explain these differences, as well as the formation of individual attitudes towards integration, Inglehart's theory of the Silent Revolution is used. The theory and its central concepts – postmaterialism and cognitive mobilization – are put on trial at three levels of aggregation. The results are poor. Postmaterialism appears to be unrelated to attitudes towards European integration, while the concept of cognitive mobilization makes sense only at the individual level. The conclusion is therefore that Inglehart's theory is of almost no use in explaining attitudes towards integration and cross-national differences in support.

Recent trends in public support for unions in Canada

This paper investigates trends in public support for unionism during the 1980s. Comparing data from two western Canadian cities in 1981 and 1987, we examine the impact of the recession of the early 1980s on public perceptions of the role of unions, whether the differences between cities documented during 1981 had increased or decreased by 1987, and if “hard times” had resulted in more nonunion employees expressing a willingness to join a union. There is little evidence of growing support for negative “big labor” opinions about unions in the two cities. Despite a well-publicized labor dispute involving the use of strikebreakers in one city, there was no increase in support for legislation restricting the practice. Residents in the same city, however, were significantly more likely to agree with “business unionism” sentiments, an opinion trend accompanied by a growing willingness to join a union.

Trends in Public Support for Egypt and Israel, 1956-1978

This essay examines public support for Israel and Egypt between 1956 and 1978. Changes in support for the two Middle Eastern adversaries are examined in relation to changes in U.S. Middle Eastern policy. The results suggest that changes in public images of the two nations tend to follow changes in official policy. As American policy has shifted toward a more neutral stance, public evaluations of the two nations have converged and by 1977, Israel was favored over Egypt by a narrow margin. Variations in public evaluations of the two nations are also investigated. Besides Jewish Americans, the more educated and more affluent tend to rate Israel more favorably. Among nonwhites, the poor, and less- educated, Egypt and Israel tend to be rated evenly. In conclusion, it is noted that if cur rent U.S. Middle Eastern policy is maintained, public images of Egypt are likely to im prove gradually.

Trends in Public Support for the American Party System

To this point I have presented a variety of available observations on what I take to be several types of most relevant indicators of support for the party system in the United States. I have paid special attention in this analysis to the trends in public opinion regarding the parties over time. Given the fragmentary nature of the available indicators, when they are considered in combination they do reveal some fairly common general tendencies. First, these data show that public support for the parties, both in historical and cross-institutional perspective, is relatively weak. Attitudes toward the parties and the evaluations of the importance of the party institution show, with few exceptions, a general state of low public regard and legitimation. More importantly, even the areas such as party identification or a preference for keeping party labels on the ballot, relatively strong points of support a decade ago, have shown a significant decline since that time. The decline is greater for some aspects of public evaluations of parties than for others. But this downward trend, especially beginning in the years i960 to 1964, is fairly uniform across the various areas that we have touched upon. There are a few exceptions to these trends - such as one aspect of contributor support, willingness to contribute money. Yet, even at the point of measurement when people are most willing to contribute, those who are positively supportive are far from a majority. Thus, the improvement here does not really offset the many other kinds of losses the party institution has suffered in public regard over the past decade.