policymakers demonstrate

Introduction 23
such changes bear consequences when it comes to future inequality acceptance
and the welfare state’s and not states political and economic fundaments.
At present, we do not know enough about peoples’ acceptance towards
inequality, though surveys show a large heterogeneity in views across Europe.
For instance, on questions on why people are ‘living in need’, only around 20
per cent in countries such as Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden attribute this
to ‘laziness or lack of willpower’, this in contrast to more than 50 per cent of
Finnish and Austrian citizens. People from Finland and Austria, however, share
views with many outside Europe and are quite representative of people living in
countries such as the US, Canada and Japan. This heterogeneity partly implies
that people seem to have very different acceptance towards ex ante and ex post
inequality. Ex post inequality that is a direct result of people’s own choices
is generally much more accepted than ex ante inequality resulting from inherited
economic situation and birth. Both new and comparable data on people’s
perceived welfare and happiness, as well as a new focus on research on fairness
and preferences through experimental studies provide, and will continue
to provide, new insight on these issues.
The European welfare state has other challenges related to these questions.
Tax rules seem to change towards more favourable tax rates for firms in several
countries, resembling a race to the bottom across countries, resulting in large
corporations and firms moving to the most attractive locations. This in turn has
consequences for where the smartest people move to work, and obviously also
for inequality and how the welfare state is to be financed in the future.
Most of the above and several other questions are raised and discussed in
this comprehensive chapter. It concludes with several areas where it is of vital
importance for Europe to gain new knowledge. In particular, it has five clear
research policy recommendations for Europe. It needs to:
1. build a network of researchers in economics and social sciences to understand
the fabric of equality of opportunity: ex ante inequality is a major
challenge for the foundations of the future welfare state;
2. build up a large panel of data specific to studying the dynamics of poverty,
how people get in, how people get out;
3. undertake research to prepare the ground for a standing-up policy to fight
poverty and promote equal opportunities;
4. look at the sustainability of national welfare states in an environment where
capital and labour are mobile; and
5. further strengthen the research on the issues that lead to convergence of
Southern societies to the social model of the Nordic societies.
The Relevance of Data and Methods
The last two chapters of this volume deal with developments in data and methods
that cut across policy areas and fields. The past 20–30 years have witnessed