Foreign Direct Investment and Social Policy Attitudes in Post-Communist Countries.

The impact of individuals' exposure to the international economy on their political preferences varies widely. While it has been studied primarily in terms of trade policy and in western democracies, this paper uses cross-national survey data to examine the effect of exposure to foreign-owned firms on individuals' attitudes towards the legitimacy of various aspects of government social policies in post-communist Central and Eastern European countries. This survey data allows a direct test of the micro-foundations of the theory that greater exposure to the international economy leads people to demand more social protection. The finding presented here indicates that the influence of employment in a foreign-owned firm is more complex. In the post-communist context it appears to shift individuals' preferences away from government redistribution. This is true even though their underlying preferences for an egalitarian society do not differ significantly ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]