Abstract
This module provides information about individual perceptions of the performance of the German healthcare system during the Corona pandemic, citizens’ trust in the preparedness of the system and its crisis reaction. It also assesses the degree to which inequalities in health care provision might be mitigated or reinforced during the pandemic. Finally, the module studies to what extent perceptions of the performance and trust in the care systems are related to the individuals’ willingness to increase public spending.
Module Description
Trust in the welfare state, and the health care system in particular, is an important resource in times of crisis. If people have faith that the healthcare system responds effectively and fairly to the Corona crisis, then citizens are also more likely to accept higher taxes and increased public debt, which might be required in order to cover the costs related to the pandemic. The module “Trust and attitudes towards the welfare state” contains a series of questions that measure citizens’ trust in the healthcare system as well as political institutions more generally.
For one, the survey asks respondents for their opinion regarding the preparedness of the German health care system before the Corona pandemic as well as their assessment of the efficiency of the crisis reaction of the system. Furthermore, respondents are asked whether the system’s response has been fair and impartial, i.e. whether all groups of the population have equal chances of getting the kind of health care they need and whether the respondent him/herself is confident about getting the necessary care in case of a Corona infection. The module also probes whether citizens would be willing to increase public spending on health care after the crisis, testing in an experimental setup whether the willingness to spend changes when respondents are confronted with different kinds of fiscal trade-offs (increasing taxes, cutting back spending in other areas of the welfare state or increasing public debt). Finally, the module allows to analyze whether generalized trust in political institutions (parliament, government, the EU, but also science and the media, for instance) is correlated with trust in the health care system.
Results
The results of the survey have entered into a Policy Paper, which the Cluster has published in collaboration with the independent Berlin think-tank Das Progressive Zentrum:
Marius R. Busemeyer (2020): Source of healing or bone of contention? Trust in the German healthcare system during the coronavirus crisis. Policy Paper 04: COVID -19 and Inequality – Arguments and Findings. 15 September 2020.
-> Download the Policy Paper