Disentangling policy design: Disentangling policy design

It is well known within the field of welfare attitudes that there exists a policy design effect - universal policies tend to gain bigger support than selective policies and contributions-based policies also are more popular the selective policies. Various explanations have been given to these effects, drawing on a combination of self-interest and perceptions of the target group. This article explores the effect of being proximate as way to explain the policy design effect. Using data on self-reported proximity to five social benefits in Denmark the article shows that the effect of proximity varies between universal, contributions-based, and selective policies. Based on the results it is argued that the policy design effect can be described in terms of an incentives effect and an interpretive effect, which affects self-interest patterns and public perceptions of the target group.