About Me

Let me introduce myself

I am a social worker turned social scientist, currently working as an Assistant Professor and Senior Researcher at the Centre for Social Policy and the Media, Movements and Politics research group of the University of Antwerp (Belgium). My main research interest and expertise lies in studying the causes and consequences of public opinion towards social policies. I also lead the ERC Starting Grant ‘Unravelling the Politics of Basic Income: How Responsive are Policymakers to Public Opinion’ as its Principal Investigator.

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Research

SOCIAL POLICY

My research provides deeper insights into the politics behind social policy—defined as the set of benefits and services, such as pensions and healthcare, that serve explicitly social objectives like reducing poverty and promoting employment.

PUBLIC OPINION

In particular, my research centers on public opinion regarding social policy. To explore the causes and consequences of these “welfare attitudes,” I use both quantitative survey data—such as the European Social Survey—and qualitative data from focus groups and in-depth interviews.

POLICY RESPONSIVENESS

A key line of my research investigates how policymakers—such as elected officials and interest group representatives—respond to public opinion on social policy. In my ERC Starting Grant project, I focus specifically on their responsiveness to public attitudes toward child benefits and a universal basic income.

POLICY FEEDBACK

In another major focus of my research, I flip the perspective by investigating how existing social policies shape public opinion through feedback effects, considering both their de jure design (for example, the formal eligibility criteria) and de facto outcomes (such as actual benefit take-up rates).

POLICY FRAMING

Finally, my research experimentally investigates how public opinion can be transformed through the framing of evidence-based information about social policies’ design and outcomes, particularly in formal education and news media.

Latest Publications

July 28, 2026

Sowula & Laenen (2026)

Confidently Wrong: Benefit Overuse Beliefs and Deservingness Among Adolescents. Social Policy & Administration.

December 2, 2025

Laenen (2026)

Framing social policy preferences: A scoping review and research agenda. Open Research Europe.

October 15, 2025

Aerts & Laenen (2026)

Simu-Survey Experiments: A Novel Use of Tax-Benefit Microsimulation Modelling in the Context of Survey Experiments. Springer Nature.

June 5, 2025

Laenen (2025)

What makes social policy programs (un)popular? Disentangling the causal impact of policy design, risk group deservingness and and mode of delivery. Journal of European Social Policy.

March 24, 2025

Laenen, Roosma & Achterberg (2025)

It’s the middle that matters? Income group coalitions in support for redistributive welfare reform. International Journal of Social Welfare.

February 28, 2025

Aksit & Laenen (2025)

Settlement deservingness perceptions of climate change, economic, and political migrant groups across partisan lines. Frontiers in Sociology.

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Teaching Subjects

SOCIAL POLICY

Much of my teaching focuses on introducing (primarily Master) students to the complexities of social policy, both in Belgium and internationally. Specifically, I have taught courses such as Social Solidarity in European Welfare States at KU Leuven and Social Policy & Social Risks at Tilburg University.

METHODOLOGY

I also incorporate mixed methods in my teaching. At KU Leuven, I have taught several methodological courses, including Qualitative Research Methods and Research Design in Political Science. Currently, I teach Master/PhD students how to design and analyze surveys in the course Survey Methodology.

RESEARCH SKILLS

A key part of my teaching involves fostering practical research skills, particularly through supervising Master’s theses. I also lead the course Leeronderzoek Sociologie, guiding Bachelor students as they explore how formal education shapes adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes on social policy.

Get in touch

Address

Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp

Sint-Jacobstraat 2

2000 Antwerp, Belgium

E-mail

tijs.laenen@uantwerpen.be