Social Welfare Attitudes in Mainland China: International Comparison and Chinese Context

Previous studies find limited evidence about public opinion towards social welfare attitudes (SWAs) in developing countries. This paper attempts to reveal the international positioning and associating factors of the SWA in China. The data come from both the “International Social Survey Program” (ISSP, 2016) and an empirical investigation in Mainland China (2022); 2411 Chinese respondents from four provinces were investigated. This study reached three significant conclusions. First, respondents in Mainland China possess a positive SWA, considering that the government has the responsibility to ensure socioeconomic security. Second, the degree of economic development dominates SWA, while the East Asian welfare regime has an auxiliary effect. Third, SWA in Mainland China is deeply influenced by individuals' self-interests; whether they can profit from the welfare system has a deep impact on their SWA. This study finds that Chinese respondents have a unique SWA compared with people in rich democracies, which not only is related to the collectivism and self-reliance concepts influenced by Confucianism in East Asia but also originates from the inadequate welfare supply in China's social welfare system.