Risk management in a globalizing world: an empirical analysis of individual preferences in 26 European countries

The risks that individuals face in everyday life, such as illness and unemployment, can be covered using market, government, or community mechanisms. The market can function with a lower level of solidarity compared to the other two mechanisms; the government mechanism requires the highest level of compulsory solidarity and communities are associated with voluntary solidarity. Social context affects individual preferences with regard to any one of these mechanisms. This article investigates to what extent these preferences are influenced by globalization: the economic, social and political openness of countries. The dataset used in this study combines data from the European Values Study 1999-2000 (EVS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the KOF Index of Globalization, and contains information about 31,554 people living in 26 European countries. The results derived from logistic multilevel analysis show that preferences towards the organization of solidarity are related to the different dimensions of globalization.