IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ude/wpaper/0309.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Attitudes toward immigrants: a cross-country perspective

Author

Listed:
  • R Todd Jewell

    (University of North Texas. Denton, Texas, USA)

  • Natalia Melgar

    (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República)

  • David J. Molina

    (University of North Texas. Denton, Texas, USA)

  • Máximo Rossi

    (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República)

Abstract

This paper examines the foundations of attitudes towards immigrants by focusing on individual characteristics and country-specific effects. We use a micro-level data set from 31 countries. In particular, we utilize the module on National Identity of the 2003 International Social Survey Program (ISSP). Results indicate that gender, education, age, labor-market status, and political and religious affiliation are important indicators of the attitude toward immigrants. The largest effect appears to be that of education, with more education being positively correlated with a positive view of immigrants. Additionally, we find that country of residence matters.

Suggested Citation

  • R Todd Jewell & Natalia Melgar & David J. Molina & Máximo Rossi, 2009. "Attitudes toward immigrants: a cross-country perspective," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0309, Department of Economics - dECON.
    • Handle: RePEc:ude:wpaper:0309
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12008/2119
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richardson Gary, 2005. "The Origins of Anti-Immigrant Sentiments: Evidence from the Heartland in the Age of Mass Migration," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-48, June.
    2. Facchini, Giovanni & Mayda, Anna Maria, 2006. "Individual Attitudes towards Immigrants: Welfare-State Determinants Across Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 2127, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Dustmann Christian & Preston Ian P, 2007. "Racial and Economic Factors in Attitudes to Immigration," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-41, November.
    4. Francisco Rivera-Batiz & Myeong-Su Yun & Ira Gang, 2002. "Economic Strain, Ethnic Concentration and Attitudes Towards Foreigners in the European Union," Departmental Working Papers 200214, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    5. Anna Maria Mayda, 2006. "Who Is Against Immigration? A Cross-Country Investigation of Individual Attitudes toward Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(3), pages 510-530, August.
    6. B. Davis & P. Winters, 2001. "Gender, Networks and Mexico-US Migration," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2), pages 1-26.
    7. Ingrid Nielsen & Chris Nyland & Russell Smyth & Mingqiong Zhang & Cherrie Jiuhua Zhu, 2006. "Effects of Intergroup Contact on Attitudes of Chinese Urban Residents to Migrant Workers," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(3), pages 475-490, March.
    8. Kenneth F. Scheve & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2001. "Labor Market Competition And Individual Preferences Over Immigration Policy," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(1), pages 133-145, February.
    9. Nielsen, Ingrid & Smyth, Russell, 2008. "Who wants safer cities? Perceptions of public safety and attitudes to migrants among China's urban population," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 46-55, March.
    10. Brenner, Jan & Fertig, Michael, 2006. "Identifying the Determinants of Attitudes towards Immigrants: A Structural Cross-Country Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 2306, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Catalina Amuedo‐Dorantes & Thitima Puttitanun, 2011. "Gender Differences In Native Preferences Toward Undocumented And Legal Immigration: Evidence From San Diego," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 29(1), pages 31-45, January.
    2. Brenner, Jan & Fertig, Michael, 2006. "Identifying the Determinants of Attitudes towards Immigrants: A Structural Cross-Country Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 2306, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Aleksynska, Mariya, 2011. "Relative deprivation, relative satisfaction, and attitudes towards immigrants: Evidence from Ukraine," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 189-207, June.
    4. David Card & Christian Dustmann & Ian Preston, 2012. "Immigration, Wages, And Compositional Amenities," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 78-119, February.
    5. Jan Brenner, 2007. "Parental Impact on Attitude Formation - A Siblings Study on Worries about Immigration," Ruhr Economic Papers 0022, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Giovanni Facchini & Anna Maria Mayda & Riccardo Puglisi, 2017. "Illegal immigration and media exposure: evidence on individual attitudes," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-36, December.
    7. Giovanni Facchini & Anna Maria Mayda, 2009. "The Political Economy of Immigration Policy," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-03, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Apr 2009.
    8. Judit Oláh & György Halasi & Zoltán Szakály & József Popp, 2017. "The Impact of International Migration on the Labor Market – A Case Study from Hungary," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 19(46), pages 790-790, August.
    9. Giovanni Facchini & Anna Maria Mayda, 2006. "Individual Attitudes towards Immigrants: Welfare-State Determinants Across Countries," Working Papers gueconwpa~06-06-02, Georgetown University, Department of Economics.
    10. Gordon Hanson, 2010. "The Governance of Migration Policy," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 185-207.
    11. Lena Calahorrano, 2011. "Population Aging and Individual Attitudes toward Immigration: Disentangling Age, Cohort and Time Effects," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 389, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    12. Christian Dustmann & Francesca Fabbri & Ian Preston, 2011. "Racial Harassment, Ethnic Concentration, and Economic Conditions," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 113(3), pages 689-711, September.
    13. Giovanni Facchini & Anna Maria Mayda, 2012. "Individual Attitudes Towards Skilled Migration: An Empirical Analysis Across Countries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 183-196, February.
    14. Giovanni Facchini & Anna Maria Mayda & Mariapia Mendola, 2013. "What Drives Individual Attitudes towards Immigration in South Africa?," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 326-341, May.
    15. Cédric Gorinas & Mariola Pytliková, 2017. "The Influence of Attitudes toward Immigrants on International Migration," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 416-451, June.
    16. Noel Gaston & Douglas R. Nelson, 2013. "Bridging Trade Theory And Labour Econometrics: The Effects Of International Migration," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 98-139, February.
    17. Yamamura, Eiji, 2009. "Frequency of contact with foreigners in a homogenous society: perceived consequences of foreigner increases in Japan," MPRA Paper 14646, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Musallam Abedtalas & Adnan Rashid Mamo, 2023. "Host Community Attitudes Towards Internally Displaced Persons: Evidence from Al-Bab, Syria," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 13(4), pages 1-10.
    19. Yamamura, Eiji, 2011. "Frequency of contact with foreigners in a homogeneous society: perceived consequences of foreigner increases," MPRA Paper 33852, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. repec:zbw:rwirep:0022 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Sen Xue, 2018. "Does contact improve attitudes towards migrants in China? : Evidence from urban residents," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(2), pages 149-200, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration; microeconomic behavior; comparative research.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

    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:ude:wpaper:0309. 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: Andrea Doneschi or the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/derauuy.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.