Social perceptions of welfare deservingness: A scoping review of Southern European welfare systems

New paradigms in social intervention in response to social-political challenges are often rooted in public opinion and street-level bureaucrats’ perception of welfare deservingness. This scoping review examines available evidence on public and street-level views of welfare deservingness and maps state-of-the-art research. It employed PRISMA and produced a narrative synthesis based on studies from 2000 to 2023. The literature searches identified articles due to their relevance to welfare deservingness and the CARIN model. The findings confirm that perceptions of deservingness are key predictors of public support for social policies and influence their implementation. This highlights the connections between public opinion, professional practice and the legitimacy of welfare systems, which is particularly relevant for understanding welfare in Southern Europe, where historical and sociopolitical specificities shape attitudes and research remains limited.