Attitudes towards the Euro by national identity and relative national status

The present study investigates the effect that the relative status of a nation in the European Monetary Union – in this case Austria – and national identity has on attitudes towards the Euro. Alternative assumptions deriving from social motivation theory and the common ingroup identity model are tested. The study results provide evidence in support of the social motivation theory: respondents who perceived Austria’s status as being lower than that of the other member states and who identified strongly with Austria also showed the strongest opposition to the Euro. Respondents who perceived Austria’s status as being equal or even higher than the status of other European states were favourable in their attitudes towards the Euro as a symbol of the union, and national identity had no main effect on their attitudes towards the Euro.