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Immigrant legalization and the redistribution of state funds: Evidence from the 1986 IRCA

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  • Sabet, Navid
  • Winter, Christoph

Abstract

We study the impact of immigrant legalization on fiscal transfers from state to local governments in the United States, exploiting variation in legal status from the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). State governments allocate more resources to IRCA counties, an allocation that is responsive to the electoral incentives of the governor. Importantly, the effect emerges prior to the enfranchisement of the IRCA migrants and we argue it is driven by the IRCA’s capacity to politically empower already legal Hispanic migrants in mixed legal status communities. The IRCA increases turnout in large Hispanic communities as well as Hispanic political engagement, without detectably triggering anti-migrant sentiment.

Suggested Citation

  • Sabet, Navid & Winter, Christoph, 2024. "Immigrant legalization and the redistribution of state funds: Evidence from the 1986 IRCA," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:236:y:2024:i:c:s0047272724000914
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105155
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Navid Sabet, 2023. "Out of the Shadows and into the Classroom: Immigrant Legalization, Hispanic Schooling and Hispanic Representation on School Boards," CESifo Working Paper Series 10677, CESifo.
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    4. Kalena E. Cortes, 2013. "Achieving the DREAM: The Effect of IRCA on Immigrant Youth Postsecondary Educational Access," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 428-432, May.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Distributive politics; State and local government; Immigrant legalization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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