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Immigration and preferences for redistribution in Europe1
[Goodbye Lenin (or not): the effect of communism on people’s preferences]

Author

Listed:
  • Alberto Alesina
  • Elie Murard
  • Hillel Rapoport

Abstract

We examine the relationship between immigration and preferences for redistribution in Europe using a newly assembled dataset of immigrant stocks for 140 regions in 16 Western European countries. Exploiting within-country variations in the share of immigrants at the regional level, we find that native respondents display lower support for redistribution when the share of immigrants in their residence region is higher. This negative association is driven by regions of countries with relatively large welfare states and by respondents at the center or at the right of the political spectrum. It is stronger when immigrants originate from Middle-Eastern or Eastern European countries, are less skilled than natives and experience more residential segregation. These results are unlikely to be driven by immigrants’ endogenous location choices, that is, by welfare magnet effects or by immigrants’ sorting into regions with better economic opportunities. They are also robust to instrumenting immigration using a standard shift-share approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Alesina & Elie Murard & Hillel Rapoport, 2021. "Immigration and preferences for redistribution in Europe1 [Goodbye Lenin (or not): the effect of communism on people’s preferences]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 21(6), pages 925-954.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:21:y:2021:i:6:p:925-954.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeg/lbab002
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; income redistribution; population heterogeneity; welfare systems;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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