Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of Social Expenditure on Attitudes Towards Immigration in Europe

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There is a growing body of literature dealing with the causes behind anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia. Based on the literature on the fiscal burden model, this paper contends that the differences in attitudes toward immigration, between low and high statuses, can be explained by the size of the welfare state. We argue that the impact of socio-economic status on attitudes toward immigration is larger in countries where social expenditure is high. Since a potential increase in the number of welfare recipients due to new immigrants might lead to a reduction in per capita transfers, low-income individuals in these countries are expected to be more concerned about the effect of immigration on social benefits. Using multilevel models and data from the European Social Survey we have found that while the effect of socio-economic status on attitudes toward immigration is positive there is a great deal of variation between countries. The difference in attitudes between high and low socio-economic statuses increases as social expenditure increases. Moreover, increases of social expenditure in the short run increases anti-immigrant sentiment as it raises concerns about the impact of immigration on welfare services.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. ISEI scores are divided by 100 to standardize the scale of explanatory variables.

  2. In this model we do not include income and education as explanatory variables, since ISEI scores are computed as a function of these two variables.

  3. We do not report on all these models in Table 3 for the sake of brevity. However, these results are available upon request to the authors.

References

  • Artiles, A. M., & Meardi, G. (2014). Public opinion, immigration and welfare in the context of uncertainty. European Review of Labour and Research, 20, 53–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, T. K., Lofstrom, M., & Zimmerman, K. F. (2000). Immigration policy, assimilation of immigrants, and natives’ sentiments towards immigrants: Evidence from 12 OECD countries. Swedish Economic Policy Review, 7, 11–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, M. C., & Gabriel, P. E. (1991). Risk aversion and the earnings of U.S. immigrants and natives. Applied Economics, 23, 311–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boeri, G. (2010). Immigration to the land of redistribution. Economica, 77(4), P651–P687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. (1999). Heavens door. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G., Freeman, R., & Katz, L. (1996). Searching for the effect of immigration on the labor market. American Economic Review, 86(2), 246–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braumoeller, B. F. (2004). Hypothesis testing and multiplicative interaction terms. International Organization, 58, 807–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brettell, C. B., & Hollifield, J. F. (2008). Migration theory. Talking across disciplines. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brezis, E., & Krugman, P. (1993). Immigration, investment, and real wages, NBER working paper 4563, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

  • Burns, P., & Gimpel, J. (2000). Economic insecurity, prejudicial stereotypes, and public opinion on immigration policy. Political Science Quarterly, 115(3), 201–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Card, D. (2001). Immigrant inflows, native outflows, and the local labor market impacts of higher immigration. Journal of Labor Economics, 19(1), 22–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ceobanu, A. M., & Escandell, X. (2010). Comparative analyses of public attitudes toward immigrants and immigration using multinational survey data: A review of theories and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 36, 309–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick, B. R., & Miller, P. W. (2008). Occupational attainment and immigrant economic progress in Australia. Economic Record, 84, 845–856.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Citrin, J., Green, D. P., Muste, C., & Wong, C. (1997). Public opinion towards immigration reform: The role of economic motivations. Journal of Politics, 59, 858–881.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cobb-Clark, D., & Hildebrand, V. (2006). The wealth and asset holdings of U.S.-born and foreign-born households: Evidence from the SIPP data. Review of Income and Wealth, 52, 17–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohrs, J. C., & Stelzl, M. (2010). How ideological attitudes predict host society members’ attitudes toward immigrants: Exploring cross-national differences. Journal of Social Issues, 66, 673–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dustmann, C., & Preston, I. P. (2006). Is immigration good or bad for the economy? Analysis of attitudinal responses. Research in Labor Economics, 24, 3–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eger, M. A. (2010). Even in Sweden: The effect of immigration on support for welfare spending. European Sociological Review, 26(2), 203–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Escandell, X., & Ceobanu, A. M. (2009). Anti-immigrant sentiment and welfare state regimes in Europe, Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, UCSD, Working Paper 178.

  • Esping-Andersen, G. (1999). Social foundations of postindustrial economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Facchini, G., & Mayda, A. M. (2009). Does the welfare state affect individual attitudes toward immigrants? Evidence across countries. Review of Economics and Statistics, 91(2), 295–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Facchini, G., & Mayda, A. M. (2012). Individual attitudes towards skilled migration: An empirical analysis across countries. The World Economy, 35, 183–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fetzer, J. S. (2000). Public attitudes toward immigration in the United States, France, and Germany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fix, M., & Passel, J. (2002). The scope and impact of welfare reforms immigrant provisions, Discussion Paper 02-03. Washington DC: Urban Institute.

  • Gang, I. N., Rivera-Batiz, F. L., & Yun, M.-S. (2013). Economic strain, education and attitudes towards foreigners in the European Union. Review of International Economics, 21, 177–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ganzeboom, H. B., & Treiman, D. J. (1996). Internationally comparable measures of occupational status for the 1988 international standard classification of occupations. Social Sciences Research, 25, 201–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Givens, T. E. (2007). Immigrant integration in Europe: Empirical research. Annual Review of Political Science, 10, 67–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hainmueller, J., & Hiscox, M. J. (2007). Educated preferences: Explaining attitudes towards immigration in Europe. International Organization, 61, 399–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hainmueller, J., & Hiscox, M. J. (2010). Attitudes toward highly skilled and low-skilled immigration: Evidence from a survey experiment. American Political Science Review, 104(1), 61–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, G. H. (2005). Why does immigration divide America?. Washington DC: Institute for International Economics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, G., Scheve, K., & Slaughter, M. (2007). Public finance and individual preferences over globalization strategies. Economics and Politics, 19(1), 1–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haubert, J., & Fussell, E. (2006). Explaining pro-immigrant sentiment in the U.S.: Social class, cosmopolitanism, and perceptions of immigrants. International Migration Review, 40, 489–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helbling, M., & Kriesi, H. (2014). Why citizens prefer high- over low-skilled immigrants. Labor market competition, welfare state and deservingness. European Sociological Review, 30(5), 595–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knoll, B. R. (2009). And who is my neighbor? Religion and immigration policy attitudes. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 48(2), 313–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunovich, R. M. (2004). Social structural position and prejudice: An exploration of cross-national differences in regression slopes. Social Science Research, 33, 20–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leamer, E., & Levinsohn, J. (1995). International trade theory: The evidence. In G. M. Grossman & K. Rogoff (Eds.), Handbook of international economics (Vol. 3, pp. 1339–1394). Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maître, B., Nolan, B., & Whelan, C. T. (2005). Welfare regimes and household income packaging in the European Union. Journal of European Social Policy, 15(2), 157–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malchow-Møller, N., Munch, J. R., Schroll, S., & Skaksen, J. R. (2008). Attitudes Towards Immigration. Perceived consequences and economic self-interest. Economics Letters, 100, 254–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malchow-Møller, N., Munch, J. R., Schroll, S., & Skaksen, J. R. (2009). Explaining cross-country differences in attitudes towards immigration in the EU-15. Social Indicators Research, 91, 371–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mau, S., & Burkhardt, C. (2009). Migration and welfare state solidarity in Western Europe. Journal of European Social Policy, 19(3), 213–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayda, A. M. (2006). Who is against immigration? A cross-country investigation of individual attitudes towards immigrants. Review of Economics and Statistics, 88, 510–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrisen, A. (2008). Immigrants, unemployment, Europe’s varying welfare regimes. In C. Parsons & T. Smeeding (Eds.), Immigration and the transformation of Europe (pp. 200–234). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosisa, A. T. (2002). The role of foreign-born workers in the U.S. economy. Monthly Labor Review, 125(5), 3–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Rourke, K. H., & Sinnott, R. (2006). The determinants of individual attitudes towards immigration. European Journal of Political Economy, 22, 838–861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orrenius, P. M., & Zavodny, M. (2009). Do immigrants work in riskier jobs? Demography, 46(3), 535–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ottaviano, G., & Peri, G. (2008). Immigration and national wages: Clarifying the theory and the empirics. NBER working paper 14188, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

  • Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models. Applications and data analysis methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rueda, D. (2005). Insider–outsider politics in industrialized democracies: The challenge to social democratic parties. American Political Science Review, 99(1), 61–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sainsbury, D. (2006). Immigrants social rights in comparative perspective: Welfare regimes, forms in immigration and immigration policy regimes. Journal of European Social Policy, 16(3), 229–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sainsbury, D. (2012). Welfare states and immigrant rights: The politics of inclusion and exclusion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Saxton, G., & Benson, M. (2003). The origins of socially and politically hostile attitudes toward immigrants and outgroups: Economics, ideology, or national context? Journal of Political Science, 31, 101–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheve, K. F., & Slaughter, M. J. (2001). Labor market competition and individual preferences over immigration policy. Review of Economics and Statistics, 88, 133–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telli, H. (2010). Determinants of attitudes towards immigration: Who is in favour of unskilled immigration in the European Welfare State? University of Nottingham, Warsaw International Economic Meeting 2–4 July, 2010.

  • Tucci, I. (2005). Explaining attitudes towards immigration: New pieces to the puzzle. Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research Discussion Papers 484.

  • Van der Brug, W., & Fennema, M. (2007). What causes people to vote for a radical right party? A review of recent work. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 19(4), 474–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Meer, T., Grotenhuis, M. T., & Pelzer, B. (2010). Influential cases in multilevel modeling. American Sociological Review, 75, 173–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Oorschot, W. (2006). Making the difference in social Europe: Deservingness perceptions among citizens of European welfare states. Journal of European Social Policy, 16(1), 23–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viscusi, W. K. (1993). The value of risks to life and health. Journal of Economic Literature, 31, 1912–1946.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkes, R., & Corrigall-Brown, C. (2011). Explaining time trends in public opinion: Attitudes towards immigration and immigrants. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 52(1–2), 79–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, W., & Tumlin, K. C. (1999). Patchwork policies: State assistance for immigrants under welfare reform. Washington DC: Urban Institute.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CSO2011-29346) to conduct this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Málaga, C/Ejido, 6, Málaga, 29071, Spain

    Antonio M. Jaime-Castillo

  2. Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Seville, C/Pirotecnia s/n, Seville, 41013, Spain

    Ildefonso Marqués-Perales

  3. Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, Complutense University of Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas s/n, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, 28223, Spain

    Javier Álvarez-Gálvez

  4. Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Loyola University Andalusia, Campus de Palmas Altas, C/Energía Solar s/n, Edificio G, Seville, 41014, Spain

    Javier Álvarez-Gálvez

Authors
  1. Antonio M. Jaime-Castillo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ildefonso Marqués-Perales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Javier Álvarez-Gálvez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio M. Jaime-Castillo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jaime-Castillo, A.M., Marqués-Perales, I. & Álvarez-Gálvez, J. The Impact of Social Expenditure on Attitudes Towards Immigration in Europe. Soc Indic Res 126, 1089–1108 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0939-0

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0939-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation