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of 0.68), because the economies of older Member States still have higher levels of
aggregate productivity per inhabitant (Baldwin & Wyplosz, 2006). However, there
are substantial positive correlations (0.54 and 0.55) between the GDP variable and
the scores on the dimensions of negative view of globalisation and postmaterialism.
It is therefore clear that the concerns about globalisation pressures and the post-
materialist value orientation are more intensive in the public opinion of the richer
Member States. It is also interesting to establish that the globalisation measure is
more closely related to the years of EUmembership (0.54) than the post-materialism
measure (0.43). This means that the anxiety and concerns about globalisation are
more dominant in the perceptions of electorates in the older Member States. It is
also important that the correlation (0.50) between the scores on the globalisation
measure and the post-materialism measure is significant, but at a lower level than
some other correlations of theoretical importance in Table 4.5.
Secondly, it has been postulated that the more abstract concerns with climate
change and global warming (see Table 4.3) will be related to the post-materialist
value orientation. This hypothesis is clearly sustained by the high correlation (0.69)
between the two measures (see Fig. 4.1). There is also a significant correlation (0.66)
of these concerns with the globalisation measure. The scatter diagram in Fig. 4.1
can suggest that there is an important relationship with the number of years of EU
membership. However, such correlation (0.39) is much lower, particularly due to
the outlaying positions of the opinion in Sweden (SE) and Denmark (DK). There is
a higher correlation (0.56) with the GDP variable indicating that the concerns with
climate change are more intensive in the public opinion of the richer Member States.
Fig. 4.1
Correlation between concerns about climate change and post-materialist scores
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