IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp13676.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Immigration and Redistribution

Author

Listed:
  • Elsner, Benjamin

    (University College Dublin)

  • Concannon, Jeff

    (University College Dublin)

Abstract

One of the fundamental questions in the social sciences is whether modern welfare states can be sustained as countries welcome more immigrants. On theoretical grounds, the relationship between immigration and support for redistribution is ambiguous. Immigration may increase ethnic diversity, which may reduce the support for redistribution. On the other hand, natives may demand more redistribution as an insurance against labour market risks brought by immigration. In this chapter, we review the theoretical and empirical literature on immigration and redistribution from across the social sciences. We focus on two themes, namely the effect of immigration on natives' support for redistribution, and the effect on the actual setting of tax and spending policies. Recent empirical evidence suggests that immigration lowers the support for redistribution and leads to lower taxation and spending. However, the magnitude of these effects appears to be highly context-dependent.

Suggested Citation

  • Elsner, Benjamin & Concannon, Jeff, 2020. "Immigration and Redistribution," IZA Discussion Papers 13676, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13676
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp13676.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claudia Senik & Holger Stichnoth & Karine Straeten, 2009. "Immigration and Natives’ Attitudes towards the Welfare State: Evidence from the European Social Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 91(3), pages 345-370, May.
    2. Alesina, Alberto & Murard, Elie & Rapoport, Hillel, 2019. "Immigration and Preferences for Redistribution in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 12130, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Joan Llull, 2018. "Immigration, Wages, and Education: A Labour Market Equilibrium Structural Model," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(3), pages 1852-1896.
    4. Baldwin, Kate & Huber, John D., 2010. "Economic versus Cultural Differences: Forms of Ethnic Diversity and Public Goods Provision," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 104(4), pages 644-662, November.
    5. Hindriks, Jean, 1999. "The consequences of labour mobility for redistribution: tax vs. transfer competition," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 215-234, November.
    6. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2121-2168, October.
    7. Roland Benabou & Efe A. Ok, 2001. "Social Mobility and the Demand for Redistribution: The Poum Hypothesis," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(2), pages 447-487.
    8. Christian Houle, 2017. "Inequality, ethnic diversity, and redistribution," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, March.
    9. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2006. "Belief in a Just World and Redistributive Politics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 699-746.
    10. Christian Dustmann & Kristine Vasiljeva & Anna Piil Damm, 2019. "Refugee Migration and Electoral Outcomes," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(5), pages 2035-2091.
    11. Speciale, Biagio, 2012. "Does immigration affect public education expenditures? Quasi-experimental evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 773-783.
    12. Habyarimana, James & Humphreys, Macartan & Posner, Daniel N. & Weinstein, Jeremy M., 2007. "Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 101(4), pages 709-725, November.
    13. Edo, Anthony & Giesing, Yvonne & Öztunc, Jonathan & Poutvaara, Panu, 2019. "Immigration and electoral support for the far-left and the far-right," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 99-143.
    14. James C. Garand & Ping Xu & Belinda C. Davis, 2017. "Immigration Attitudes and Support for the Welfare State in the American Mass Public," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(1), pages 146-162, January.
    15. Alberto Alesina & Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, 2007. "Goodbye Lenin (or Not?): The Effect of Communism on People," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(4), pages 1507-1528, September.
    16. John E. Roemer & Lee Woojin & Karine van Der Straeten, 2007. "Racism, Xenophobia, and Distribution: Multi-issue Politics in Advanced Democracies," Post-Print halshs-00754747, HAL.
    17. Bisin, Alberto & Verdier, Thierry, 2017. "Inequality, redistribution and cultural integration in the Welfare State," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 122-140.
    18. Razin, Assaf & Sadka, Efraim & Swagel, Phillip, 2002. "Tax burden and migration: a political economy theory and evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 167-190, August.
    19. Nannestad, Peter, 2007. "Immigration and welfare states: A survey of 15 years of research," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 512-532, June.
    20. Biagio Speciale, 2012. "Does immigration affect public education expenditures? Quasi-experimental evidence," Post-Print hal-00755890, HAL.
    21. Paola Giuliano & Marco Tabellini, 2020. "The Seeds of Ideology: Historical Immigration and Political Preferences in the United States," NBER Working Papers 27238, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Brady, David & Finnigan, Ryan, 2014. "Does Immigration Undermine Public Support for Social Policy?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 79(1), pages 17-42.
    23. Daniel N. Posner, 2004. "Measuring Ethnic Fractionalization in Africa," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(4), pages 849-863, October.
    24. Romer, Thomas, 1975. "Individual welfare, majority voting, and the properties of a linear income tax," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 163-185, February.
    25. Ortega Francesc, 2010. "Immigration, Citizenship, and the Size of Government," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-40, March.
    26. Christian Houle, 2017. "Inequality, ethnic diversity, and redistribution," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, March.
    27. Woojin Lee & John Roemer & Karine Van der Straeten, 2006. "Racism, Xenophobia, and Redistribution," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 4(2-3), pages 446-454, 04-05.
    28. Caglar Ozden & Christopher R. Parsons & Maurice Schiff & Terrie L. Walmsley, 2011. "Where on Earth is Everybody? The Evolution of Global Bilateral Migration 1960-2000," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 25(1), pages 12-56, May.
    29. Gaston, Noel & Rajaguru, Gulasekaran, 2013. "International migration and the welfare state revisited," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 90-101.
    30. Klaus Desmet & Ignacio Ortuño-Ortín & Shlomo Weber, 2009. "Linguistic Diversity and Redistribution," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(6), pages 1291-1318, December.
    31. Christian Dustmann & Tommaso Frattini & Ian P. Preston, 2013. "The Effect of Immigration along the Distribution of Wages," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 80(1), pages 145-173.
    32. Erzo F. P. Luttmer, 2001. "Group Loyalty and the Taste for Redistribution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(3), pages 500-528, June.
    33. Petrik Runst, 2018. "Does Immigration Affect Demand for Redistribution? – An Experimental Design," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 19(4), pages 383-400, November.
    34. Brian Beach & Daniel B. Jones, 2017. "Gridlock: Ethnic Diversity in Government and the Provision of Public Goods," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 112-136, February.
    35. David E. Wildasin, 1994. "Income Redistribution and Migration," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 27(3), pages 637-656, August.
    36. Jim Dolmas & Gregory W. Huffman, 2004. "On The Political Economy Of Immigration And Income Redistribution," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1129-1168, November.
    37. Cremer, Helmuth & Pestieau, Pierre, 1998. "Social insurance, majority voting and labor mobility," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 397-420, June.
    38. Wildasin, David E, 1991. "Income Redistribution in a Common Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(4), pages 757-774, September.
    39. Matz Dahlberg & Karin Edmark & Heléne Lundqvist, 2012. "Ethnic Diversity and Preferences for Redistribution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 120(1), pages 41-76.
    40. Dinas, Elias & Matakos, Konstantinos & Xefteris, Dimitrios & Hangartner, Dominik, 2019. "Waking Up the Golden Dawn: Does Exposure to the Refugee Crisis Increase Support for Extreme-Right Parties?," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(2), pages 244-254, April.
    41. Tim Krieger, 2002. "Intergenerational Redistribution and Labor Mobility: A Survey," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 58(3), pages 339-361, July.
    42. Martin Halla & Alexander F. Wagner & Josef Zweimüller, 2017. "Immigration and Voting for the Far Right," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(6), pages 1341-1385.
    43. Runst Petrik, 2018. "Does Immigration Affect Demand for Redistribution? – An Experimental Design," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 19(4), pages 383-400, December.
    44. Lena Nekby & Per Pettersson‐Lidbom, 2017. "Revisiting the Relationship between Ethnic Diversity and Preferences for Redistribution: Comment," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 119(2), pages 268-287, April.
    45. Robert Rowthorn, 2008. "The fiscal impact of immigration on the advanced economies," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 24(3), pages 561-581, Autumn.
    46. Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Iñigo & Romero, J. Gabriel, 2016. "Financing public goods and attitudes toward immigration," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 159-178.
    47. Holger Stichnoth, 2012. "Does immigration weaken natives’ support for the unemployed? Evidence from Germany," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 151(3), pages 631-654, June.
    48. Lind, Jo Thori, 2007. "Fractionalization and the size of government," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 51-76, February.
    49. Coen-Pirani, Daniele, 2011. "Immigration and spending on public education: California, 1970–2000," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1386-1396.
    50. Casarico, Alessandra & Devillanova, Carlo, 2003. "Social security and migration with endogenous skill upgrading," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(3-4), pages 773-797, March.
    51. Noel Gaston & Gulasekaran Rajaguru, 2013. "International migration and the welfare state: Asian perspectives," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 271-289.
    52. Epple, Dennis & Romer, Thomas, 1991. "Mobility and Redistribution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(4), pages 828-858, August.
    53. Muñoz, Jordi & Pardos-Prado, Sergi, 2019. "Immigration and Support for Social Policy: An Experimental Comparison of Universal and Means-Tested Programs," Political Science Research and Methods, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(4), pages 717-735, October.
    54. Scholten, Ulrich & Thum, Marcel, 1996. "Public Pensions and Immigration Policy in a Democracy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 87(3-4), pages 347-361, June.
    55. Christer Gerdes, 2011. "The Impact of Immigration on the Size of Government: Empirical Evidence from Danish Municipalities," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 113(1), pages 74-92, March.
    56. Haupt, Alexander & Peters, Wolfgang, 1998. "Public Pensions and Voting on Immigration," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 95(3-4), pages 403-413, June.
    57. Roberts, Kevin W. S., 1977. "Voting over income tax schedules," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 329-340, December.
    58. Kåre Vernby, 2013. "Inclusion and Public Policy: Evidence from Sweden’s Introduction of Noncitizen Suffrage," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(1), pages 15-29, January.
    59. Moriconi, Simone & Peri, Giovanni & Turati, Riccardo, 2019. "Immigration and voting for redistribution: Evidence from European elections," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    60. Holger Stichnoth & Karine Van der Straeten, 2013. "Ethnic Diversity, Public Spending, And Individual Support For The Welfare State: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 364-389, April.
    61. Jordi Jofre-Monseny & Pilar Sorribas-Navarro & Javier Vázquez-Grenno, 2016. "Immigration and local spending in social services: evidence from a massive immigration wave," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(6), pages 1004-1029, December.
    62. Razin, Assaf & Sadka, Efraim & Suwankiri, Benjarong, 2011. "Migration and the Welfare State: Political-Economy Policy Formation," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262016109, April.
    63. Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), 2013. "International Handbook on the Economics of Migration," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 4026.
    64. Paola Giuliano & Antonio Spilimbergo, 2014. "Growing up in a Recession," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(2), pages 787-817.
    65. Gonnot, Jérôme, 2020. "Taxation with Representation: The Political Economy of Foreigners’ Voting Rights," TSE Working Papers 20-1077, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Riccardo Bruni & Alessandro Gioffré & Maria Marino, 2022. ""In-group bias in preferences for redistribution: a survey experiment in Italy"," IREA Working Papers 202223, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Nov 2023.
    2. Michael Christl & Alain Bélanger & Alessandra Conte & Jacopo Mazza & Edlira Narazani, 2022. "Projecting the fiscal impact of immigration in the European Union," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 365-385, December.
    3. Lenka Dražanová & Jérôme Gonnot, 2023. "Public Opinion and Immigration in Europe: Can Regional Migration Flows Predict Public Attitudes to Immigration?," RSCAS Working Papers 2023/18, European University Institute.
    4. Zimmermann, Severin & Stutzer, Alois, 2022. "The consequences of hosting asylum seekers for citizens’ policy preferences," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Martinangeli, Andrea F.M. & Windsteiger, Lisa, 2023. "Immigration vs. poverty: Causal impact on demand for redistribution in a survey experiment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Rhea Ravenna Sohst & Alessio Fusco & Philippe Van Kerm, 2024. "Foreign-born households’ contribution to inequality and polarization in European income distributions," LISER Working Paper Series 2024-06, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    7. Salvador Traettino, 2022. "Migración forzada y finanzas públicas locales: Evidencia de los municipios en Colombia," Documentos CEDE 20335, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alberto Alesina & Elie Murard & Hillel Rapoport, 2019. "Immigration and Preferences for Redistribution in Europe," Working Papers 2019-15, CEPII research center.
    2. Achard, Pascal & Suetens, Sigrid, 2023. "The Causal Effect of Ethnic Diversity on Support for Redistribution and the Role of Discrimination," Other publications TiSEM a5e6e0cd-5e07-4a24-a15c-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    3. Pascal Achard & Sigrid Suetens, 2023. "The causal effect of ethnic diversity on support for redistribution and the role of discrimination," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 1678-1696, December.
    4. Dowon Kim & Dongwon Lee, 2021. "Immigration and the pattern of public spending: evidence from OECD countries," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(4), pages 1014-1034, August.
    5. Olivier Bargain & Victor Stephane & Jérôme Valette, 2022. "Another brick in the wall. Immigration and electoral preferences: Direct evidence from state ballots," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 1452-1477, November.
    6. Martinangeli, Andrea F.M. & Windsteiger, Lisa, 2023. "Immigration vs. poverty: Causal impact on demand for redistribution in a survey experiment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Edo, Anthony & Giesing, Yvonne & Öztunc, Jonathan & Poutvaara, Panu, 2019. "Immigration and electoral support for the far-left and the far-right," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 99-143.
    8. Ulrich Hendel & Salmai Qari, 2014. "Immigration and Attitudes Towards Day Care," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 997-1029, November.
    9. Coban, Mustafa, 2017. "I'm fine with Immigrants, but ...: Attitudes, ethnic diversity, and redistribution preference," Discussion Paper Series 137, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Chair of Economic Order and Social Policy.
    10. Alberto Alesina & Marco Tabellini, 2024. "The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 5-46, March.
    11. Murard, Elie, 2017. "Less Welfare or Fewer Foreigners? Immigrant Inflows and Public Opinion towards Redistribution and Migration Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 10805, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Ian Preston, 2014. "The Effect of Immigration on Public Finances," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(580), pages 569-592, November.
    13. Gonnot, Jérôme, 2022. "Taxation with representation: Understanding natives’ attitudes to foreigners’ voting rights," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    14. Gonnot, Jérôme, 2020. "Taxation with Representation: The Political Economy of Foreigners’ Voting Rights," TSE Working Papers 20-1077, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    15. Erik Lindqvist & Robert Östling, 2013. "Identity and redistribution," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 469-491, June.
    16. Anthony Edo & Lionel Ragot & Hillel Rapoport & Sulin Sardoschau & Andreas Steinmayr, 2018. "The Effects of Immigration in Developed Countries: Insights from Recent Economic Research," CEPII Policy Brief 2018-22, CEPII research center.
    17. Jordi Jofre-Monseny & Pilar Sorribas-Navarro & Javier Vázquez-Grenno, 2016. "Immigration and local spending in social services: evidence from a massive immigration wave," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(6), pages 1004-1029, December.
    18. Konstantinos Matakos & Riikka Savolainen & Janne Tukiainen, 2020. "Refugee Migration and the Politics of Redistribution: Do Supply and Demand Meet?," Discussion Papers 132, Aboa Centre for Economics.
    19. Luna Bellani & Heinrich Ursprung, 2016. "The Political Economy of Redistribution Policy," CESifo Working Paper Series 6189, CESifo.
    20. Petrik Runst, 2018. "Does Immigration Affect Demand for Redistribution? – An Experimental Design," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 19(4), pages 383-400, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    public policy; redistribution; migration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13676. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.