IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dem/wpaper/wp-2023-035.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The interplay between refugee inflows and media coverage in determining attitudes towards immigration in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Chia-Jung Tsai

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • R. Gordon Rinderknecht

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Emilio Zagheni

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

In this study, we examined the role media plays in moderating the relationship between refugee influx and anti-immigration attitudes across German regions. Specifically, we focused on the salience of refugees in local news media in each region, and we explored the extent to which such attention heightened the connection between increasing refugees in an area and growth in anti-immigration views. We conducted this analysis using data from the German Socio-Economic-Panel (2011-2017), asylum applications data from the Federal Office of Statistics, and the Gdelt database, which is a real-time news database. Using a mixed effect approach, we found that the effect of refugee influx on anti-immigration attitudes across regions was moderated as expected by the salience of refugees in local news, albeit in former East Germany but not in former West Germany. We contend that this difference between East and West Germany relates to East Germany’s relatively stronger ethnonationalist attitudes. Based on this, we conclude that refugee salience in media plays an essential, albeit inconsistent, role in characterizing changes in population composition as threatening, and thus in triggering anti-immigration attitudes.

Suggested Citation

  • Chia-Jung Tsai & R. Gordon Rinderknecht & Emilio Zagheni, 2023. "The interplay between refugee inflows and media coverage in determining attitudes towards immigration in Germany," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-035, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2023-035
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2023-035
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2023-035.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2023-035?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. Hopkins, Daniel J., 2010. "Politicized Places: Explaining Where and When Immigrants Provoke Local Opposition," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 104(1), pages 40-60, February.
    2. Nicola Fuchs-Schuendeln & Dirk Krueger & Mathias Sommer, 2010. "Inequality Trends for Germany in the Last Two Decades: A Tale of Two Countries," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 13(1), pages 103-132, January.
    3. Scott Blinder & Robert Ford & Elisabeth Ivarsflaten, 2013. "The Better Angels of Our Nature: How the Antiprejudice Norm Affects Policy and Party Preferences in Great Britain and Germany," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(4), pages 841-857, October.
    4. Biermann, Philipp & Welsch, Heinz, 2021. "An anatomy of East German unhappiness: The role of circumstances and mentality, 1990–2018," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1-18.
    5. Nicole Doerr, 2021. "The Visual Politics of the Alternative for Germany (AfD): Anti-Islam, Ethno-Nationalism, and Gendered Images," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, January.
    6. Friehe, Tim & Mechtel, Mario, 2014. "Conspicuous consumption and political regimes: Evidence from East and West Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 62-81.
    7. Claudia Diehl & Ingrid Tucci, 2011. "Who Can Become German?: Xenophobia and Attitudes Towards Naturalization," DIW Economic Bulletin, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 1(3), pages 3-8.
    8. Ingrid Tucci, 2005. "Explaining Attitudes towards Immigration: New Pieces to the Puzzle," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 484, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    9. Emine Kübra Usta, 2022. "Effects of Refugee Inflow on the Voting Behavior of Natives: Application of Mobile Phone Data [Local Governance Quality and the Environmental Cost of Forced Migration]," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 68(3), pages 219-252.
    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. Heinz Welsch, 2022. "What Shapes Satisfaction with Democracy? Interests, Morals, and the German East–West Divide," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 197-217, August.
    2. Behringer, Jan & Endres, Lukas & van Treeck, Till, 2023. "Income inequality, household consumption and status competition in Germany," ifso working paper series 25, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Socioeconomics (ifso).
    3. Tim Friehe & Mario Mechtel, 2017. "Gambling to leapfrog in status?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1291-1319, December.
    4. Endres, Lukas & Behringer, Jan & van Treeck, Till, 2023. "Income Inequality, Consumption and Status Competition in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277689, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Goldfayn-Frank, Olga & Wohlfart, Johannes, 2018. "How do consumers adapt to a new environment in their economic forecasting? Evidence from the German reunification," IMFS Working Paper Series 129, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS).
    6. Albers, Thilo & Bartels, Charlotte & Schularick, Moritz, 2022. "Wealth and its Distribution in Germany, 1895-2018," CEPR Discussion Papers 17269, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Sekeris, Petros & Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2016. "The Mediterranean Refugees Crisis and Extreme Right Parties: Evidence from Greece," MPRA Paper 72222, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Jakub Lonsky, 2021. "Does immigration decrease far-right popularity? Evidence from Finnish municipalities," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 97-139, January.
    9. Dodin, Majed & Findeisen, Sebastian & Henkel, Lukas & Sachs, Dominik & Schüle, Paul, 2024. "Social mobility in Germany," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    10. Michael Funke & Kadri Männasoo & Helery Tasane, 2023. "Regional Economic Impacts of the Øresund Cross-Border Fixed Link: Cui Bono?," CESifo Working Paper Series 10557, CESifo.
    11. Jasjeet Singh Sekhon & Richard D. Grieve, 2012. "A matching method for improving covariate balance in cost‐effectiveness analyses," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(6), pages 695-714, June.
    12. Arpita Chatterjee & James Morley & Aarti Singh, 2017. "Full Information Estimation of Household Income Risk and Consumption Insurance," Discussion Papers 2017-07, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    13. Kroh Tanja, 2016. "Wie wirken Steuern auf die Einkommens- und Vermögensverteilung?," Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 65(1), pages 022-046, May.
    14. Tim Hatton, 2013. "The Slump and Immigration Policy in Europe," CEPR Discussion Papers 686, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    15. Nao Sudo & Michio Suzuki & Tomoaki Yamada, 2012. "Inequalities in Japanese Economy during the Lost Decades," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-856, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    16. Benedikt Heid, 2014. "Essays on International Trade and Development," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 55, May.
    17. Moritz Drechsel-Grau & Kai Daniel Schmid, 2013. "Consumption-Savings Decisions under Upward Looking Comparisons: Evidence from Germany, 2002-2011," IMK Working Paper 118-2013, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    18. Ekaterina Selezneva & Philippe Van Kerm, 2016. "A distribution-sensitive examination of the gender wage gap in Germany," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(1), pages 21-40, March.
    19. Bucher-Koenen, Tabea & Lamla, Bettina, 2014. "The long Shadow of Socialism: On East-West German Differences in Financial Literacy," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100585, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    20. Daria Denti & Alessandra Faggian, 2024. "Welcome to the Punch. Local exposure to refugees and hate events in Italy," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1415-1442, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Germany; attitude; immigration; media; refugees;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:dem:wpaper:wp-2023-035. 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: Peter Wilhelm (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    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.