Attitudes Towards Immigration: Economic versus Cultural Determinants. Evidence from the 2011 Transatlantic Trends Immigration Data

Abstract

Immigration is an issue that is always on the political agenda. Today we see that the United States and European countries are reassessing immigration policies based on changed realities and needs of their countries. However, policy makers are not always in-sync with public opinion. Surveys show that the public generally is less concerned about the economic impact of immigration but care more about the cultural impact of immigration. The predominant narrative in political discussion and electoral campaigns, however, seems to be increasingly focused on the effects immigrants might have on the labor market and the welfare system. This paper analyzes individual attitudes towards immigration based on the 2011 Transatlantic Trends Immigration data for the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy. The results indicate that economic factors are not the most important predictors of public attitudes towards immigration.