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Immigration and Voting Patterns in the European Union: Evidence from Five Case Studies and Cross-Country Analysis

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  • Ethan J Grumstrup

    (University of Connecticut, United States.)

  • Todd Sorensen

    (University of Nevada, Reno, United States.)

  • Jan Misiuna

    (SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland.)

  • Marta Pachocka

    (SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland.)

Abstract

Tempers flared in Europe in response to the 2015 European Refugee Crisis, prompting some countries to totally close their borders to asylum seekers. This was seen to have fueled anti-immigrant sentiment, which grew in Europe along with the support for far-right political parties that had previously languished. This sparked a flurry of research into the relationship between immigration and far-right voting, which has found mixed and nuanced evidence of immigration increasing far-right support in some cases, while decreasing support in others. To provide more evidence to this unsettled debate in the empirical literature, we use data from over 400 European parties to systematically select cases of individual countries. We augment this with a cross-country quantitative study. Our analysis finds little evidence that immigrant populations are related to changes in voting for the right. Our finding gives evidence that factors other than immigration are the true cause of rises in right-wing voting.

Suggested Citation

  • Ethan J Grumstrup & Todd Sorensen & Jan Misiuna & Marta Pachocka, 2021. "Immigration and Voting Patterns in the European Union: Evidence from Five Case Studies and Cross-Country Analysis," Migration Letters, Migration Letters, vol. 18(5), pages 573-589, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:mig:journl:v:18:y:2021:i:5:p:573-589
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.33182/ml.v18i5.943
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; European Union; voting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

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