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Comparative Analysis of Public Attitudes toward Nuclear Power Energy across 27 European Countries by Applying the Multilevel Model
[journal article]
Abstract Despite its potential risks, nuclear power energy offers some economic benefits including cheap electricity. This benefit clarifies part of the reason why people support nuclear energy. Our research examined whether there was a difference in the acceptance of nuclear energy across 27 European countr... view more
Despite its potential risks, nuclear power energy offers some economic benefits including cheap electricity. This benefit clarifies part of the reason why people support nuclear energy. Our research examined whether there was a difference in the acceptance of nuclear energy across 27 European countries in 2009, before the Fukushima accident. In particular, we analyzed how each factor at the individual and contextual level influences the acceptance. To answer this question, we set up the acceptance of nuclear energy as a dependent variable, and 5 perception variables at the individual level and 11 structural ones at the contextual level as independent variables. We executed multilevel modeling by using a Eurobarometer survey, which covered 27 European countries. The analysis results showed that at the individual level, the perceived benefit explained the largest variance of the acceptance, followed by perceived risk and trust. At the contextual level, the share of the energy supply by nuclear power, environmentalism and ideology influenced the acceptance of nuclear energy. This study shows that individuals’ acceptance of nuclear energy is based on individual beliefs and perceptions, but it is also influenced by the institutional and socio-cultural context which each country faces.... view less
Keywords
nuclear energy; attitude; population; public opinion; multi-level analysis; Europe; international comparison; Eurobarometer; perception; energy supply; environmental protection; sociocultural factors; regression analysis; EU
Classification
Special areas of Departmental Policy
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
acceptance of nuclear energy; psychometric paradigm; risk perception; multilevel analysis
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
Page/Pages
21 p.
Journal
Sustainability, 19 (2018) 5
ISSN
2071-1050
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed