Preferences for Immigration Restriction and Opinions About Immigrants' Economic Impacts - Evidence from the European Union Before the 2004 Expansion

50 Pages Posted: 19 Jan 2007

See all articles by Yuji Tamura

Yuji Tamura

Department of Accounting, Data Analytics, Economics and Finance, La Trobe University; ANU Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University

Date Written: January 2007

Abstract

We investigate the importance of citizens' opinions about economic impacts of immigration in their countries to their preferences for immigration restriction. We focus on personal views regarding how immigrants would affect the national labor market and the domestic public finance. Our analysis of survey data from 7 EU countries during the period 2002-2003 suggests that personal opinions about these issues do not explain individual preferences for immigration restriction. We find somewhat unexpectedly that employers were more likely to prefer immigration restriction than the rest. Those who relied on unemployment benefits were less likely to prefer immigration restriction than the others, although they were more likely to anticipate a negative labor market impact of immigration. The higher the relative income position, the lower the likelihood of preferring immigration restriction, and also the lower the likelihood of thinking that immigrants would negatively affect the national labor market. However, those whose income was relatively high were more likely to expect a negative net fiscal impact of immigration than low-income citizens.

Keywords: Immigration, Citizens' preferences, European Union

JEL Classification: F22, J61

Suggested Citation

Tamura, Yuji, Preferences for Immigration Restriction and Opinions About Immigrants' Economic Impacts - Evidence from the European Union Before the 2004 Expansion (January 2007). IIIS Discussion Paper No. 199, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=958044 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.958044

Yuji Tamura (Contact Author)

Department of Accounting, Data Analytics, Economics and Finance, La Trobe University ( email )

Melbourne, VIC 3086
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/accounting-data-analytics-economics-and-finance

ANU Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University

Canberra, ACT 2600
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://rse.anu.edu.au/research/centre-economic-policy-research

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