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Not Welcome Anymore: The Effect of Electoral Incentives on the Reception of Refugees

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  • Matteo Gamalerio

Abstract

Do electoral incentives affect immigration policies? I study this question in the setting of Italian municipalities making decisions about the reception of refugees. The localized control of the reception policy (SPRAR), combined with the exogenous timing of policy decisions and staggered elections, enables me to study the effect of electoral incentives on the reception of refugees. Although municipalities receive fiscal grants for hosting refugees, electoral incentives reduce the probability of opening a refugee centre by 24 per cent. The effect is driven by voters’ misperceptions of immigrants and by extreme-right political preferences. The results explain why is difficult to reach an equal redistribution of refugees across and within countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Matteo Gamalerio, 2018. "Not Welcome Anymore: The Effect of Electoral Incentives on the Reception of Refugees," CESifo Working Paper Series 7212, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7212
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    Cited by:

    1. Davide Bellucci & Pierluigi Conzo & Roberto Zotti, 2019. "Perceived Immigration and Voting Behavior," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 588, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    2. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/54p3kn4dif9c6p441joi37h8vp is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Massimiliano Ferraresi, 2022. "The regional (re)allocation of migrants during the Great Lockdown in Italy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(2), pages 403-426, July.
    4. Bracco, Emanuele & De Paola, Maria & Green, Colin & Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2022. "The spillover of anti-immigration politics to the schoolyard," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Bredtmann, Julia, 2022. "Immigration and electoral outcomes: Evidence from the 2015 refugee inflow to Germany," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    6. Campo, Francesco & Giunti, Sara & Mendola, Mariapia, 2024. "Refugee crisis and right-wing populism: Evidence from the Italian Dispersal Policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    7. Silvia Peracchi, 2022. "The Migration Crisis in the Local News: Evidence from the French-Italian Border," CESifo Working Paper Series 10070, CESifo.
    8. Max Viskanic, 2019. "Fear and loathing on the campaign trail 2016-18 : migrants, refugees and the rise of far right populism [Peur et haine dans la campagne électorale 2016-18 : migrants, réfugiés et la montée du popul," SciencePo Working papers tel-03369802, HAL.
    9. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/54p3kn4dif9c6p441joi37h8vp is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Max Viskanic, 2019. "Fear and loathing on the campaign trail 2016-18 : migrants, refugees and the rise of far right populism [Peur et haine dans la campagne électorale 2016-18 : migrants, réfugiés et la montée du popul," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-03369802, HAL.
    11. Max Viskanic, 2020. "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail: Did Immigration Cause Brexit?," Working Papers hal-03471315, HAL.
    12. Max Viskanic, 2020. "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail: Did Immigration Cause Brexit?," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03471315, HAL.
    13. Aksoy,Cevat Giray & Ginn,Thomas Clinton, 2022. "Attitudes and Policies toward Refugees : Evidence from Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9985, The World Bank.
    14. Bratti, Massimiliano & Deiana, Claudio & Havari, Enkelejda & Mazzarella, Gianluca & Meroni, Elena Claudia, 2020. "Geographical proximity to refugee reception centres and voting," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; reception of refugees; electoral incentives; fiscal grants;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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