Economic Perceptions, Issue Salience, Media Use, and Public Support for European Integration.

The purpose of this study is to test Gabel and Whitten’s (1997) model of support for European integration using a larger and two-decade more recent dataset. Based on previous findings regarding predictors of EU enlargement support, this study drops aggregate-level data and completes the model with individual-level variables pertaining to issue salience, perceived threats, media use, and knowledge about the European Union. The study, which analyzes survey data from 29 nations (unlike the original model which included only six), brings support to the original research design and also compares support for integration between EU citizens and respondents from candidate countries. The findings suggest that, as predicted by economic voting theory, economic self-interest plays no role in shaping attitudes toward integration. Perceptions of the national welfare, however, are good predictors of such support, as are perceived threats and roles associated with the European Union. Building on previous research on media use and public opinion, this study finds that in Europe, as compared to the trend in the United States, newspaper readership leads to less support to integration, whereas television watching has an opposite effect. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]