All spending is not equal: How the EU can increase public support for the EU

People who live in regions that receive high levels of EU funding might be expected to have more positive attitudes toward the EU. However, as Adam William Chalmers and Lisa Maria Dellmuth demonstrate, this relationship is not as simple as it might appear. Drawing on a recent study*, they illustrate that a region’s needs make a large difference to the effectiveness of EU funding in building public support: where funding meets a clearly defined need for the local population it has a far more positive effect.

* All Spending Is Not Equal: European Union Public Spending, Policy Feedback, and Citizens’ Support for the EU (European Journal of Political Research, Forthcoming)