The Moral Economy of Unemployment

This project investigates via thematically guided interviews with employed persons the social acceptance of social security benefits for the unemployed. The main emphases of the study are the interpretations, preferences and value judgements underlying their positive and negative assessments. Initial empirical results show that, contrary to the widespread opinion, the acceptance of these benefits is very high. Most of the interviewees support the system of social insurance including the underlying normative principles of solidarity and redistribution between employed and unemployed persons. In a next phase this research perspective will be supplemented by a comparison between East and West Germany.