Elucidating the Phenomena of Welfare Bashing: An Empirical Study with Policy Prescriptions.

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K13445
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Social welfare and social work studies
• Research Institution: Nihon Fukushi University
• Principal Investigator: YAMADA Soshiro 日本福祉大学, 社会福祉学部, 准教授 (90387449)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 生活保護 / バッシング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to elucidate the phenomenon of welfare bashing and examine policies aimed at overcoming it. We thus conducted two surveys measuring the public’s understanding of the welfare system. Our first survey was conducted over the internet; its target population was the general public. We found that most respondents were concerned about illegal recipients and spending benefits on gambling; only a small number of respondents were concerned about the adequacy of welfare payments and the strengthening of obligation of support. The second survey was targeted at university students who are learning about the welfare system. We found that after taking classes on the welfare system, in comparison to before they took the class, students were less likely to call for a more stringent welfare system.

Free Research Field

社会福祉学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

生活保護は、全ての国民の最低限度の生活を保障する重要な制度である。生活保護に対する否定的な意識が広がることは、わが国の社会保障の根幹を揺るがすことにつながりかねない。本研究を通じて、人々が生活保護のどのような点に否定的な意識をもっているのか、これを克服するためにはどのような取り組みが必要なのかという実践的な課題を考えるための基礎資料を得ることができた。また、生活保護に関する意識調査は、学術的にも蓄積が少なく、生活保護への市民意識が政策に影響を与える時代状況の中で、今後の生活保護政策研究の発展に一定の貢献をすることができた。