Shame on you the stigma of social welfare benefits

We examine the drivers of stigma of social protection benefits in Portugal by exploring how individual socio-economic characteristics relate to levels of personal stigma (thinking that social benefits are for people that are different than me) and to levels of stigmatization (believing that the society thinks less of individuals that receive social benefits). We conducted a survey on stigma perceptions targeting residents of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon. We find that age, being employed, and being a political conservative tend to increase the likelihood of reporting personal stigma. On the other hand, having completed a college degree is expected to decrease the odds of reporting personal stigma. On the stigmatization side, evidence suggests that reporting personal stigma increases the likelihood of declaring stigmatization. These results unveil the influence of sociological context on stigma-related opinions