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Do elections affect immigration? Evidence from French municipalities

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  • Schmutz, Benoît
  • Verdugo, Gregory

Abstract

Using thirty years of municipal elections in France, we show that election results affect the share of immigrants across municipalities. In municipalities where a left- instead of right-wing mayor has been elected, the share of immigrants in the population grows faster by 1.5 p.p. within six years after the elections, and by 3 p.p. within twelve years. To a large extent, these effects are driven by partisan differences in public housing constructions and changes in the composition of the population within existing public housing units. They also are associated with greater incumbency advantage, in line with a model of strategic partisan behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Schmutz, Benoît & Verdugo, Gregory, 2023. "Do elections affect immigration? Evidence from French municipalities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:218:y:2023:i:c:s0047272722002055
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104803
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    Cited by:

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    2. Guillaume Chapelle & J.B. Eyméoud & C. Wolf, 2023. "Land-use regulation and housing supply elasticity: evidence from France," THEMA Working Papers 2023-08, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    3. Frédéric Docquier & Chrysovalantis Vasilakis, 2024. "Migrants' Self-Selection and the Vicious Circle of Right-Wing Populism," LISER Working Paper Series 2024-10, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    4. repec:irs:cepswp:2024-01 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; Public housing; Local elections;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy

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