How did welfare attitudes change during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany? An empirical analysis using panel data

Abstract

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe social and economic consequences. Governments have implemented or expanded a number of policy measures to cope with these consequences. In the paper, we ask whether there is more support for general social policy measures to compensate for the new uncertainties arising from the pandemic. Using survey data collected in two panel waves in March and June/July 2020, we analyse how public welfare attitudes have changed during the first phase of the pandemic in Germany. In addition to the individual-level survey data, we use time-varying regional data on infection and unemployment rates. We provide descriptive results and employ fixed-effects regressions. Our results show small changes in welfare attitudes, but we do not find evidence for increased public support for general social policy measures.