The transmission of preferences on immigration from the first to the second generation of immigrants: an analysis of the European Social Survey

Galli, Fausto and Russo, Giuseppe (2023): The transmission of preferences on immigration from the first to the second generation of immigrants: an analysis of the European Social Survey.

Abstract

This article studies the immigrants’ attitude towards immigration with special emphasis on the transition from the first to the second generations. We use European Social Survey data for the 2002-2020 period, which include many questions on the attitude to immigration, in order to estimate the impact of the immigrant status through ordered probit models. We find that first-generation immigrants support immigration more than natives. We also find that evidence of generational convergence towards natives’ opinions is limited. This result suggests that the effect of the immigration experience on preferences is persistent across generations.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: immigrants, immigrant integration, attitudes/view towards immigration, intraEU migration
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J11 - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers > J61 - Geographic Labor Mobility ; Immigrant Workers; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification

References

Binder, N. E., Polinard, J. L., & Wrinkle, R. D. (1997). Mexican American and Anglo attitudes toward immigration reform: A view from the border. Social Science Quarterly, 324-337.

Bisin, A., & Verdier, T. (2011). The economics of cultural transmission and socialization. In Handbook of social economics (Vol. 1, pp. 339-416). North-Holland

Blinder, S., & Richards, L. (2016). UK public opinion toward immigration: Overall attitudes and level of concern. Migration Observatory briefing, COMPAS, University of Oxford.

Borjas, G. J. (1994). The economics of immigration. Journal of economic literature, 32(4), 1667-1717. Braakmann, N., Waqas, M., & Wildman, J. (2017). Are immigrants in favour of immigration? Evidence from England and Wales. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 17(1).

EUROSTAT (2014). “First and second-generation immigrants - a statistical overview”. EUROSTAT Online Publications.

Hainmueller, J., & Hangartner, D. (2013). Who gets a Swiss passport? A natural experiment in immigrant discrimination. American political science review, 107(1), 159-187.

Hainmueller, J., & Hiscox, M. J. (2007). Educated preferences. Explaining attitudes toward immigration in Europe. International Organization, 61(2), 399-442.

Hainmueller, J., & Hopkins, D. J. (2014). Public attitudes toward immigration. Annual review of political science, 17, 225-249.

Hood III, M. V., Morris, I. L., & Shirkey, K. A. (1997). "¡ Quedate o Vente!": Uncovering the Determinants of Hispanic Public Opinion Toward Immigration. Political Research Quarterly, 50(3), 627-647.

Just, A., & Anderson, C. J. (2015). Dual allegiances? Immigrants’ attitudes toward immigration. The Journal of Politics, 77(1), 188-201.

Mayda, A. M. (2006). Who is against immigration? A cross-country investigation of individual attitudes toward immigrants. The review of Economics and Statistics, 88(3), 510-530.

Meeusen, C., Abts, K., & Meuleman, B. (2019). Between solidarity and competitive threat?: The ambivalence of anti-immigrant attitudes among ethnic minorities. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 71, 1-13.

Mustafa, A., & Richards, L. (2019). Immigration attitudes amongst European Muslims: Social identity, economic threat and familiar experiences. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 42(7), 1050-1069.

Naumann, E., & Hess, M. (2021). Population ageing, immigration and the welfare state: the political demography in Western Europe. In Global Political Demography: The Politics of Population Change (pp. 351-371). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Polinard, J. L., Wrinkle, R. D., & De La Garza, R. (1984). Attitudes of Mexican Americans toward irregular Mexican immigration. International Migration Review, 18(3), 782-799.

Přívarová, M., Rievajová, E., Galstyan, A., Gavurová, B. (2022). Migration processes and determinants: the case of the Slovak Republic. Social Policy Issues, 59(4), 305-322.

Schildkraut, D. J. (2013). The complicated constituency: a study of immigrant opinions about political representation. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 1(1), 26-47.

Trevelyan, Edward, Christine Gambino, Thomas Gryn, Luke Larsen, Yesenia Acosta, Elizabeth Grieco, Darryl Harris, and Nathan Walters (2016). “Characteristics of the U.S. Population by Generational Status: 2013”. U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Survey Reports.

Vasey, H. (2017). The emergence of a low-skill migrant labour market: structural constraints, discourses of difference and blocked mobility. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 18(3), 863-879.