Individual Attitudes Towards Migration: Reconciling Opposing Views

Geneva School of Economics and Management, Working Paper Series No 16-02-1

50 Pages Posted: 23 Feb 2016

See all articles by Tobias Müller

Tobias Müller

University of Geneva - Geneva School of Economics and Management

Silvio H. T. Tai

University of Geneva; Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne - Centre Maison des Sciences Economiques

Date Written: February 10, 2016

Abstract

There is disagreement in the literature about the determinants of attitudes toward immigration. Some authors emphasize the role of economic motivations, others argue that attitudes are mostly determined by individual beliefs. This paper reconciles the two positions. We estimate a structural model of individual attitudes towards immigration, accounting for unobserved individual beliefs, and use this model to carry out a decomposition analysis of attitudes in 20 European countries. We find that economic mechanisms are significant determinants of attitudes but that other (non-economic) factors play a more decisive role in the relation between individual education levels and attitudes to immigration.

Keywords: Attitudes Towards Immigrants, Political Economy, Welfare State, Labor Market

JEL Classification: F22, J61

Suggested Citation

Müller, Tobias and Tai, Silvio H. T., Individual Attitudes Towards Migration: Reconciling Opposing Views (February 10, 2016). Geneva School of Economics and Management, Working Paper Series No 16-02-1, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2736282 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2736282

Tobias Müller (Contact Author)

University of Geneva - Geneva School of Economics and Management ( email )

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+41 22 379 8238 (Phone)

Silvio H. T. Tai

University of Geneva ( email )

40 Boulevard du Pont-d'Arve
Geneva, 1211
Switzerland

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/site/silviotai/

Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne - Centre Maison des Sciences Economiques ( email )

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Paris Cedex 13, 75647
France

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/site/silviotai/

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