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Immigration and Redistribution

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  • Benjamin Elsner
  • Jeff Concannon

Abstract

One of the fundamental questions in the social sciences is whether modern welfare states can be sustained as countries welcome more immigrants. On theoretical grounds, the relationship between immigration and support for redistribution is ambiguous. Immigration may increase ethnic diversity, which may reduce the support for redistribution. On the other hand, natives may demand more redistribution as an insurance against labour market risks brought by immigration. In this chapter, we review the theoretical and empirical literature on immigration and redistribution from across the social sciences. We focus on two themes, namely the effect of immigration on natives’ support for redistribution, and the effect on the actual setting of tax and spending policies. Recent empirical evidence suggests that immigration lowers the support for redistribution and leads to lower taxation and spending. However, the magnitude of these effects appears to be highly context-dependent.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Elsner & Jeff Concannon, 2020. "Immigration and Redistribution," Working Papers 202024, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:202024
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    Cited by:

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    2. Michael Christl & Alain Bélanger & Alessandra Conte & Jacopo Mazza & Edlira Narazani, 2022. "Projecting the fiscal impact of immigration in the European Union," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 365-385, December.
    3. Lenka Dražanová & Jérôme Gonnot, 2023. "Public Opinion and Immigration in Europe: Can Regional Migration Flows Predict Public Attitudes to Immigration?," RSCAS Working Papers 2023/18, European University Institute.
    4. Kerstin Mitterbacher & Stefan Palan & Jürgen Fleiß, 2024. "Intergroup cooperation in the lab: asymmetric power relations and redistributive policies," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 51(4), pages 877-912, November.
    5. Zimmermann, Severin & Stutzer, Alois, 2022. "The consequences of hosting asylum seekers for citizens’ policy preferences," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Martinangeli, Andrea F.M. & Windsteiger, Lisa, 2023. "Immigration vs. poverty: Causal impact on demand for redistribution in a survey experiment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Rhea Ravenna Sohst & Alessio Fusco & Philippe Van Kerm, 2024. "Foreign-born households’ contribution to inequality and polarization in European income distributions," LISER Working Paper Series 2024-06, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    8. Salvador Traettino, 2022. "Migración forzada y finanzas públicas locales: Evidencia de los municipios en Colombia," Documentos CEDE 20335, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration; Redistribution; Public policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

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