Explanations for Unemployment in Great Britain and New Zealand

Abstract

Previous research into lay explanations for unemployment has been primarily concerned with the structure and individual determinants of these attributions. This study set out to compare the explanations of comparable groups from Great Britain and New Zealand. Overall the British tended to rate societal explanations as more important, and individualistic explanations as less important, than New Zealanders. These results are discussed in terms of the social, political, and historical differences between the two countries.