IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecopol/v33y2021i2p264-288.html

Inside job: Migration and distributive politics in the European Union

Author

Listed:
  • Merih Angin
  • Albana Shehaj
  • Adrian J. Shin

Abstract

Migration has become a top policy priority of the European Union (EU) in the wake of the 2015 migrant crisis. Given the significant ramifications of non‐European immigration for its member states, the EU has implemented a variety of policies to minimize popular backlashes within the borders of its wealthiest member states, which are also popular final destinations for migrants. In this article, we show that the EU offers financial incentives to its migrant‐transit member countries in exchange for holding migrants traveling from the Middle East and North Africa region within their territories. We use a subnational dataset on Southern Italy to examine the effects of migrant arrivals by boat on the amount of the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund received by each autonomous region between 2006 and 2018. In addition, we provide a cross‐national analysis of EU expenditures using data on unauthorized border crossings into the EU between 2009 and 2018. We find robust empirical support for the argument that the EU channels more funds to jurisdictions located on the major migrant‐transit routes.

Suggested Citation

  • Merih Angin & Albana Shehaj & Adrian J. Shin, 2021. "Inside job: Migration and distributive politics in the European Union," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 264-288, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecopol:v:33:y:2021:i:2:p:264-288
    DOI: 10.1111/ecpo.12170
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecpo.12170
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ecpo.12170?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Holland, Alisha C. & Peters, Margaret E., 2020. "Explaining Migration Timing: Political Information and Opportunities," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(3), pages 560-583, July.
    2. Carney, Megan A., 2017. "“Sharing One's Destiny”: Effects of austerity on migrant health provisioning in the Mediterranean borderlands," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 251-258.
    3. 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.
    4. Sascha Becker & Thiemo Fetzer & Dennis Novy & Sascha O. Becker, 2017. "Who Voted for Brexit?," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 15(04), pages 03-05, December.
    5. Alberto Alesina & Armando Miano & Stefanie Stantcheva, 2023. "Immigration and Redistribution," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(1), pages 1-39.
    6. Peters, Margaret E., 2014. "Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, and Immigration Policy Making in the United States," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 811-844, October.
    7. Roland Vaubel, 1986. "A public choice approach to international organization," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 39-57, January.
    8. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    9. Sascha O Becker & Thiemo Fetzer & Dennis Novy, 2018. "Erratum to: Who voted for Brexit? A comprehensive district-level analysis," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 33(93), pages 179-180.
    10. Bermeo, Sarah Blodgett & Leblang, David, 2015. "Migration and Foreign Aid," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 69(3), pages 627-657, July.
    11. Leblang, David, 2010. "Familiarity Breeds Investment: Diaspora Networks and International Investment," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 104(3), pages 584-600, August.
    12. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    13. Christoph Mikulaschek, 2018. "Issue linkage across international organizations: Does European countries’ temporary membership in the UN Security Council increase their receipts from the EU budget?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 491-518, December.
    14. Sniderman, Paul M. & Hagendoorn, Louk & Prior, Markus, 2004. "Predisposing Factors and Situational Triggers: Exclusionary Reactions to Immigrant Minorities," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 98(1), pages 35-49, February.
    15. Massey, Douglas S., 2005. "Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199282760.
    16. Allison Carnegie & Nikolay Marinov, 2017. "Foreign Aid, Human Rights, and Democracy Promotion: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(3), pages 671-683, July.
    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. Alrababa'h, Ala' & Dillon, Andrea Balacar & Williamson, Scott & Hainmueller, Jens & Hangartner, Dominik & Weinstein, Jeremy, 2021. "Attitudes toward migrants in a highly impacted economy: evidence from the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102980, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Sumit S. Deole & Yue Huang, 2024. "Suffering and prejudice: do negative emotions predict immigration concerns?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 1-39, June.
    3. Lechler, Marie, 2019. "Employment shocks and anti-EU sentiment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 266-295.
    4. Campos, Nauro F., 2019. "B for Brexit: A Survey of the Economics Academic Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 12134, IZA Network @ LISER.
    5. Facundo Albornoz & Jake Bradley & Silvia Sonderegger, 2020. "The Brexit referendum and the rise in hate crime; conforming to the new norm," Discussion Papers 2020-12, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    6. Snower, Dennis J. & Bosworth, Steven J., 2021. "Economic, social and political fragmentation: Linking knowledge-biased growth, identity, populism and protectionism," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    7. Florian Dorn & Clemens Fuest & Lea Immel & Florian Neumeier, 2020. "Economic Deprivation and Radical Voting: Evidence from Germany," ifo Working Paper Series 336, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    8. Facundo Albornoz & Jake Bradley & Silvia Sonderegger, 2022. "Updating the Social Norm: the Case of Hate Crime after the Brexit Referendum," Working Papers 203, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    9. Becker, Malte & Krüger, Finja & Heidland, Tobias, 2024. "What Drives Attitudes toward Immigrants in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Uganda and Senegal," IZA Discussion Papers 16734, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Pablo Argote & Lucas Perelló, 2024. "Explaining the Impact of South-South Migration: Evidence from Chile’s Immigration Boom," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 2071-2093, December.
    11. Oleg Badunenko & Maria Popova, 2024. "Does inequality migrate? The development of income inequality across German states," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 555-589, March.
    12. Cristelli, Gabriele & Lissoni, Francesco, 2020. "Free movement of inventors: open-border policy and innovation in Switzerland," MPRA Paper 104120, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Frédéric Docquier & Lucas Guichard & Stefano Iandolo & Hillel Rapoport & Riccardo Turati & Gonzague Vannoorenberghe, 2022. "Populism and the Skill-Content of Globalization: Evidence from the Last 60 Years," CESifo Working Paper Series 10068, CESifo.
    14. Gallegos Torres, Katia, 2023. "The 2015 refugee inflow and concerns over immigration," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Eugenio Levi & Rama Dasi Mariani & Fabrizio Patriarca, 2020. "Hate at first sight? Dynamic aspects of the electoral impact of migration: the case of Ukip," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 1-32, January.
    16. Alberto Alesina & Marco Tabellini, 2024. "The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 5-46, March.
    17. Julia Peter & Silke Uebelmesser, 2023. "Regional Determinants of Attitudes Towards Immigrants," Jena Economics Research Papers 2023-020, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    18. Cristelli, Gabriele & Lissoni, Francesco, 2020. "Free movement of inventors: open-border policy and innovation in Switzerland," MPRA Paper 120099, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jan 2024.
    19. Jianchun Fang & Giray Gozgor & Cheng Yan, 2021. "Does globalisation alleviate polarisation?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 1031-1052, April.
    20. Andreas Dür & Christoph Moser & Gabriele Spilker, 2020. "The political economy of the European Union," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 561-572, July.

    More about this item

    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:bla:ecopol:v:33:y:2021:i:2:p:264-288. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0954-1985 .

    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.