Insecure Alliances: Risk, Inequality, and Support for the Welfare State

Popular support for the welfare state varies greatly across nations and policy domains. We argue
that these variations—vital to understanding the politics of the welfare state—reflect in part the
degree to which economic disadvantage (low income) and economic insecurity (high risk) are
correlated. When the disadvantaged and insecure are mostly one and the same, the base of popular
support for the welfare state is narrow. When the disadvantaged and insecure represent two distinct
groups, popular support is broader and opinion less polarized. We test these predictions both across
nations within a single policy area (unemployment insurance) and across policy domains within a single
polity (the United States, using a new survey). Results are consistent with our predictions and are robust
to myriad controls and specifications.When disadvantage and insecurity are more correlated, the welfare
state is more contested.