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The Immigrant Next Door

Author

Listed:
  • Leonardo Bursztyn

    (University of Chicago, NBER - The National Bureau of Economic Research)

  • Thomas Chaney

    (USC - University of Southern California, ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research)

  • Tarek A Hassan

    (BU - Boston University [Boston], NBER - The National Bureau of Economic Research, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research)

  • Aakaash Rao

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

We study how the presence of individuals of a given foreign descent shapes natives' attitudes and behavior toward that group. Using individualized donations data from large charitable organizations, we show that the long-term presence of a given foreign ancestry in a US county leads to more generous behavior specifically toward that group's ancestral country. To shed light on mechanisms, we focus on attitudes and behavior toward Arab-Muslims, combining several existing large-scale surveys, cross-county data on implicit prejudice, and a newly-collected national survey. We show the presence of a larger Arab-Muslim population: (i) decreases both natives' explicit and implicit prejudice against Arab-Muslims, (ii) reduces natives' support for policies and political candidates hostile toward Arab-Muslims, (iii) leads to more personal contact between natives and Arab-Muslim individuals, and (iv) increases natives' knowledge of Arab-Muslims and Islam.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonardo Bursztyn & Thomas Chaney & Tarek A Hassan & Aakaash Rao, 2024. "The Immigrant Next Door," Post-Print hal-04900080, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04900080
    DOI: 10.1257/aer.20220376
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-04900080v1
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    Cited by:

    1. Matthew Roskruge & Jacques Poot, 2024. "The Relationship between Social Capital and Migrant Integration, Ethnic Diversity, and Spatial Sorting," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2412, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    2. Esses, Victoria & Harell, Allison & Lowe, Matt & Markus, Hazel Rose & Mills, Aaron & Rao, Manasi & Rao, Vijayendra & Reicher, Stephen & Singh, Prerna, 2026. "The Cycle of Hate, and What We Can Do About It," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11304, The World Bank.
    3. Rayamajhee, Veeshan & Paudel, Jayash, 2024. "The social behavior of immigrants during natural disasters: Lessons from the United States," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 614-633.
    4. Higuchi, Yuki & Higashida, Keisaku & Hossain, Mohammad Mosharraf & Takahashi, Ryo, 2025. "Disentangling anti-refugee sentiment: An empirical investigation of the Rohingya crisis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    5. Kok, Chun Chee & Lim, Gedeon & Shariat, Danial & Siddique, Abu & Tsuda, Shunsuke, 2025. "Interethnic Proximity and Political Development," IZA Discussion Papers 17776, IZA Network @ LISER.
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    7. Yvonne Giesing & Björn Kauder & Lukas Mergele & Niklas Potrafke & Panu Poutvaara, 2024. "Moving Out of the Comfort Zone: How Cultural Norms Affect Attitudes toward Immigration," CESifo Working Paper Series 10985, CESifo.
    8. Gauthier Fontanive & Emma Thill, 2026. "United in Victory, Divided in Defeat? Football Performance, Team Diversity, and Immigration Attitudes in Europe," DEM Discussion Paper Series 26-05, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    9. Hessami, Zohal & Schirner, Sebastian, 2024. "Immigration Shocks and Shifting Social Group Boundaries," IZA Discussion Papers 17343, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Chun Chee Kok & Gedeon J. Lim, 2024. "Ethnic Proximity and Politics: Evidence from Colonial Resettlement in Malaysia," SoDa Laboratories Working Paper Series 2024-06, Monash University.
    11. Rozo, Sandra V. & Quintana, Alejandra & Urbina, María José, 2026. "Electoral effects of integrating forced migrants: Evidence from a Southern Country," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    12. Cristina Cattaneo & Daniela Grieco & Nicola Lacetera & Mario Macis, 2025. "Out‐group penalties in refugee assistance: a survey experiment," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 127(4), pages 697-741, October.
    13. Byrka-Kita, Katarzyna & Czerwiński, Mateusz & Preś-Perepeczo, Agnieszka & Bajerska, Aurelia, 2025. "National board heterogeneity versus firm risk in times of war: Evidence from the Crimean crisis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    14. Charles, Kerwin Kofi & Guryan, Jonathan & Park, Kyung H., 2025. "Consumer sentiment towards Asians in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    15. Peracchi, Silvia, 2025. "Migration crisis in the local news: Evidence from the French–Italian border," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    16. Riccardo Ghidoni & David Schindler, 2026. "Contagious Prejudice: The Marocchinate," CESifo Working Paper Series 12376, CESifo.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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