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The article analyses how the programmatic structure of welfare schemes in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany shape public perceptions of and preferences for migrants' entitlement to social benefits and services. First, the article finds that despite high complexity and the presence of some severe misconceptions, the entitlement criteria of migrants within existing social benefits and services do shape public perceptions of reality. Second, the article finds that these institutional shaped perceptions of reality strongly influence preferences for how migrants' entitlement criteria should be. This status quo effect is more moderate among populist right-wing voters, in general, and in the critical case of attitudes to non-EU migrants' entitlement to social assistance in Denmark. However, in all segments, one finds strong correlations between 'are' and 'should be', which is taken as indications of clear and sizeable institutional effects.

Abstract This contribution describes differences between 10 migrant groups and natives in their attitudes towards government spending in three residence countries: Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. Previous research provided evidence that ?migrants? as a catch?all category of people from different origins are in favor of more government spending on social welfare. We study to what extent support for government spending can be explained by self?interest explanations of welfare state attitudes as well as by differences in ideological position. The contribution employs data from the Migrants' Welfare State Attitudes project, including migrant groups from similar origins in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. The study moves beyond the larger migrant groups of Turks and Poles that received attention in previous research as well, and includes a greater variety of groups that differ in terms of their skill levels. The overall finding is that migrants' welfare state spending preferences are, as in the case of natives, significantly related to socio?demographic differences and standard ideology measures of attitudes to regulation of the economy and family values. However, even with these standard variables included, spending preferences differ strongly between migrant groups, residence countries, and welfare spending domain. A comparison between country of origin and residence country provisions seems to be a promising path for further understanding migrant group differences in welfare state spending attitudes. The study challenges the idea that all migrants are supportive of extended welfare state arrangements.

Artiklen analyserer, hvorvidt blandede skoler skaber tillid mellem etniske danskere og indvandrere. Ved hjælp af et eksperimentelt design dokumenteres det, at etnisk danske børn på homogene "hvide" skoler har mindre tillid til personer med anden hudfarve, mens den tilsvarende effekt er fraværende blandt etnisk danske børn på heterogene skoler. Det støtter den såkaldte kontakthypotese og afkræfter den såkaldte konflikthypotese. Der var ikke en klar effekt fra venskabsrelationer på tværs af hudfarve og erfaring med ikke-hvide lærere. Derfor argumenteres for, at effekten skal forklares med, at heterogene skoler ophæver grænsedragninger mellem ind- og ud-grupper baseret på hudfarve. Endelig viser artiklen, at effekten fra hudfarve er signifikant mindre hos elever, der er socialiseret til at være tillidsfulde.


ENGELSK ABSTRACT:

Christian Albrekt Larsen, Morten Ringgaard, Prashanth Kantharooban, Aynkaran Anton Senthilnathan, Tim Sloth Johansen and John Linaa Holbøll:
When Skin Color Disappears: How Ethnically Mixed Public Schools Create Trust of Immigrants

The article examines the extent to which ethnically mixed schools generate trust between ethnic Danes and immigrants. It is based on an experimental research design. Ethnic Danes in homogeneous "white" schools have less trust in "non-white" persons, while this is not the case in ethnically mixed schools. The results support the contact-thesis and contradict the conflict-thesis of trust in immigrants. This effect cannot be explained by stronger inter-ethnic friendships or experience with non-Danish teachers. The article argues that the most plausible explanation of these results is that the pupils in the mixed schools simply do not apply skin color in constructing in- and out-groups. The analysis also shows that the negative effect of skin color is weaker among pupils with a general disposition to trust.

Key words: Contact thesis, conflict thesis, mixed schools, trust, experimental design.