Unauthorized Immigration and Electoral Outcomes

Baerg, Nicole Rae and Hotchkiss, Julie L. and Quispe-Agnoli, Myriam (2014): Unauthorized Immigration and Electoral Outcomes.

Abstract

Using a unique methodology for identifying undocumented workers across counties in the state of Georgia in the United States, we find a negative relationship between the share of unauthorized workers and the share of votes going to the Democrats in elections. Furthermore, we show that this effect is more pronounced for the presence of unauthorized immigrants than Hispanics; is stronger in counties with higher median household income; and is substantively larger in U.S. Congressional elections than Gubernatorial or Senatorial elections. We discuss which political economy theories are most consistent with this set of findings.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: voting behavior; ethnic threat; economic threat; unauthorized; undocumented; illegal; immigration
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J15 - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants ; Non-labor Discrimination

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