The EU as a savior and a saint? Corruption and public support for redistribution

Abstract

While the European Union is plagued by considerable social and economic inequality, not least in the wake of both the enlargement of the Union and the financial crises, we know surprisingly little about the sources of public support for redistribution and the EU:s most significant tool for reducing inequalities: Cohesion Policy. We suggest that, while identity, ideology and utilitarian concerns may motivate support for international redistribution, such support is highly contingent on perceptions of domestic corruption. Using unique and newly collected survey data, we show that perceptions of domestic corruption increase support for within-EU redistribution but only in contexts where the quality of government is low and public service delivery deficient. Perceptions of corruption have no such effect in contexts where the quality of government is high. We conclude that perceptions of domestic corruption will drive support for Cohesion Policy in contexts where the EU can be seen as both a potential savior and – relative to domestic government – a saint. We discuss implications for further EU integration.

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