IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolet/v253y2025ics0165176525002526.html

Trust decay? The impact of immigration on trust

Author

Listed:
  • Kramer, Claudia Williamson
  • Sánchez-Piñol Yulee, Daniel

Abstract

This note uses data from the Integrated Value Surveys (IVS) to explore how immigration affects both generalized trust and trust in formal institutions. The analysis finds no evidence that immigration is associated with lower levels of either type of trust. Instead, estimations suggest a positive correlation between immigration and generalized trust. These findings are robust to various controls and estimation techniques.

Suggested Citation

  • Kramer, Claudia Williamson & Sánchez-Piñol Yulee, Daniel, 2025. "Trust decay? The impact of immigration on trust," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:253:y:2025:i:c:s0165176525002526
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112415
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176525002526
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112415?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McCleary, Rachel & Barro, Robert, 2003. "Religion and Economic Growth across Countries," Scholarly Articles 3708464, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    2. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    3. Mette Foged & Giovanni Peri, 2016. "Immigrants' Effect on Native Workers: New Analysis on Longitudinal Data," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(2), pages 1-34, April.
    4. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-1288.
    5. Daniel Müller & Benno Torgler & Eric M. Uslaner, 2012. "Inherited Trust and Growth - Comment," CREMA Working Paper Series 2012-04, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    6. Kan, Kamhon & Lai, Tat-kei, 2021. "Educated to be trusting? Evidence from Europe," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    7. Giovanni Peri & Chad Sparber, 2016. "Task Specialization, Immigration, and Wages," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: The Economics of International Migration, chapter 3, pages 81-115 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    9. Lili Yao & J. Brandon Bolen & Claudia R. Williamson, 2021. "The effect of mass legalization on US state-level institutions: Evidence from the immigration reform and control act," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 427-463, December.
    10. repec:sae:mrxval:v:44:y:2010:i:3:p:697-727 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Tabellini, Marco, 2020. "Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration," CEPR Discussion Papers 14317, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Alex Nowrasteh & Andrew C Forrester & Cole Blondin, 2020. "How Mass Immigration Affects Countries with Weak Economic Institutions: A Natural Experiment in Jordan," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 533-549.
    13. Marco Manacorda & Alan Manning & Jonathan Wadsworth, 2012. "The Impact Of Immigration On The Structure Of Wages: Theory And Evidence From Britain," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 120-151, February.
    14. Guido Tabellini, 2010. "Culture and Institutions: Economic Development in the Regions of Europe," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 8(4), pages 677-716, June.
    15. Grier, Kevin B. & Grier, Robin M., 2021. "The Washington consensus works: Causal effects of reform, 1970-2015," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 59-72.
    16. Philip Oreopoulos & Alan J. Auerbach, 1999. "Analyzing the Fiscal Impact of U.S. Immigration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 176-180, May.
    17. Jamie Bologna Pavlik & Estefania Lujan Padilla & Benjamin Powell, 2019. "Cultural Baggage: Do Immigrants Import Corruption?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(4), pages 1243-1261, April.
    18. Card, David, 2001. "Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Labor Market Impacts of Higher Immigration," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(1), pages 22-64, January.
    19. George J. Borjas, 2015. "Immigration and Globalization: A Review Essay," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(4), pages 961-974, December.
    20. Michael Clemens, 2011. "Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk? - Working Paper 264," Working Papers 264, Center for Global Development.
    21. Michael A. Clemens & Ethan G. Lewis & Hannah M. Postel, 2018. "Immigration Restrictions as Active Labor Market Policy: Evidence from the Mexican Bracero Exclusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(6), pages 1468-1487, June.
    22. Giovanni Peri & Chad Sparber, 2016. "Task Specialization, Immigration, and Wages," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Economics of International Migration, chapter 3, pages 81-115, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    23. Alexeev, Michael, 2020. "Does generalized trust depend on income?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    24. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2009. "Cultural Biases in Economic Exchange?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(3), pages 1095-1131.
    25. 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.
    26. Alberto Alesina & Reza Baqir & William Easterly, 1999. "Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(4), pages 1243-1284.
    27. Christian Bjørnskov, 2012. "How Does Social Trust Affect Economic Growth?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 78(4), pages 1346-1368, April.
    28. Michael A. Clemens, 2011. "Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 83-106, Summer.
    29. Claudia Williamson Kramer, 2023. "Individualism and racial tolerance," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 197(3), pages 347-370, December.
    30. Alexandre Padilla & Nicolás Cachanosky, 2018. "The Grecian horse: does immigration lead to the deterioration of American institutions?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 351-405, March.
    31. Lili Yao & J. Brandon Bolen & Claudia R. Williamson, 2022. "Are economic arguments against immigration missing the boat? The fiscal effects of the Mariel Boatlift," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(2), pages 305-325, October.
    32. Tabellini, Marco, 2020. "Racial Heterogeneity and Local Government Finances: Evidence from the Great Migration," CEPR Discussion Papers 14319, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    33. Marco Tabellini, 2020. "Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(1), pages 454-486.
    34. Algan, Yann & Cahuc, Pierre, 2014. "Trust, Growth, and Well-Being: New Evidence and Policy Implications," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 2, pages 49-120, Elsevier.
    35. Zhang, Yinjunjie & Palma, Marco A. & Xu, Zhicheng Phil, 2016. "Unintended effects of the Alabama HB 56 immigration law on crime: A preliminary analysis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 68-71.
    36. Powell, Benjamin & Clark, J.R. & Nowrasteh, Alex, 2017. "Does mass immigration destroy institutions? 1990s Israel as a natural experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 83-95.
    37. Cachanosky, Nicolás & Padilla, Alexandre & Gómez, Alejandro, 2021. "Immigration and institutional change: Did mass immigration cause peronism in argentina?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1-15.
    38. Daniel Müller & Benno Torgler & Eric M. Uslaner, 2012. "A Comment on “Inherited Trust and Growth”," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(2), pages 1481-1488.
    39. Ljunge, Martin, 2014. "Trust issues: Evidence on the intergenerational trust transmission among children of immigrants," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 175-196.
    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. Alexandre Padilla & Nicolás Cachanosky, 2023. "Immigration and economic freedom of the US states: Does the institutional quality of immigrants' origin countries matter?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(3), pages 489-512, July.
    2. Jens Ruhose, 2015. "Microeconometric Analyses on Economic Consequences of Selective Migration," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 61, April.
    3. Lili Yao & J. Brandon Bolen & Claudia R. Williamson, 2022. "Are economic arguments against immigration missing the boat? The fiscal effects of the Mariel Boatlift," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(2), pages 305-325, October.
    4. Forrester, Andrew C. & Powell, Benjamin & Nowrasteh, Alex & Landgrave, Michelangelo, 2019. "Do immigrants import terrorism?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 529-543.
    5. Tang, William, 2025. "Immigration and Generalised Trust : Evidence from the European Refugee Crisis in Germany," Warwick-Monash Economics Student Papers 90, Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers.
    6. repec:jpe:journl:1773 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Cachanosky, Nicolás & Padilla, Alexandre & Gómez, Alejandro, 2021. "Immigration and institutional change: Did mass immigration cause peronism in argentina?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1-15.
    8. Joshua K. Bedi & Shaomeng Jia & Claudia Williamson Kramer, 2025. "Protecting Postville? The impact of deportation and immigration on crime," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 203(3), pages 369-396, June.
    9. Lebow, Jeremy, 2024. "Immigration and occupational downgrading in Colombia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    10. Adam Levai & Riccardo Turati, 2021. "The Impact of Immigration on Workers’ Protection," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2021021, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 07 Sep 2021.
    11. Lee, Jongkwan & Peri, Giovanni & Yasenov, Vasil, 2022. "The labor market effects of Mexican repatriations: Longitudinal evidence from the 1930s," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    12. repec:jpe:journl:1654 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Clemens, Michael A. & Pritchett, Lant, 2019. "The new economic case for migration restrictions: An assessment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 153-164.
    14. Lili Yao & J. Brandon Bolen & Claudia R. Williamson, 2021. "The effect of mass legalization on US state-level institutions: Evidence from the immigration reform and control act," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 427-463, December.
    15. Alexandre Padilla & Nicolás Cachanosky, 2018. "The Grecian horse: does immigration lead to the deterioration of American institutions?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 351-405, March.
    16. Corrado Giulietti & Enrico Rettore & Sara Tonini, 2023. "The chips are down: the influence of family on children’s trust formation," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 211-233, January.
    17. Lebow Jeremy, 2022. "The labor market effects of Venezuelan migration to Colombia: reconciling conflicting results†," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 13(1), pages 1-49, January.
    18. Scott L. Fulford & Ivan Petkov & Fabio Schiantarelli, 2020. "Does it matter where you came from? Ancestry composition and economic performance of US counties, 1850–2010," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 341-380, September.
    19. Christian Dustmann & Sebastian Otten & Uta Schönberg & Jan Stuhler, 2025. "The Effects of Immigration on Places and People - Identification and Interpretation," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2586, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    20. Marcus H. Böhme & Sarah Kups, 2017. "The economic effects of labour immigration in developing countries: A literature review," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 335, OECD Publishing.
    21. Erumban, Abdul.A. & Al-Mejren, Abbas, 2024. "Expatriate jobs and productivity: Evidence from two GCC economies," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 248-260.
    22. Lebow, Jeremy & Moreno-Medina, Jonathan & Mousa, Salma & Coral, Horacio, 2024. "Migrant exposure and anti-migrant sentiment: The case of the Venezuelan exodus," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • F60 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - General
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

    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:eee:ecolet:v:253:y:2025:i:c:s0165176525002526. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolet .

    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.