VEM STÖDJER BISTÅNDET? En kvantitativ studie om vilka faktorer som påverkar attityden gentemot EU:s internationella bistånd

Abstract

The discussion regarding international aid tends to be highly debated for long periods of time. Some individuals are very positive towards aid and some individuals are less positive towards aid. This study aims to broaden the understanding of the aspects behind that. The previous research tends to focus on aid allocation within the EU, or which macro factors could influence which donor countries give to which recipient countries. This study aims to add to the research with which aspects at the individual level can influence the individual's attitude towards international aid from the EU. This study will use the Eurobarometer 94.2 as the material. Three hypotheses will be tested using a linear regression analysis (OLS) as the main analysis method with a logistic regression analysis acting as a robustness test. The results show that the proposed correlation between the individual’s social class, political references, the democratic satisfaction, and the general attitude towards the EU’s international aid is significant and positive. In short conclusion, the results show that individuals who has a higher social class, who is more democratic satisfied and are on the left side of the political reference frame, are more likely to also support further investments in the EU’s international aid. The correlations are tested with four control variables with strong significant results on the majority of the independent- and control variables. The study acknowledges that the presented results is only a snapshot analysis of the general opinion at the time of carrying through of the Eurobarometer 94.2 and further research is necessary to elucidate a definitive connection between the variables that were included in this study.