Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP12630
Authors: Gilat Levy; Ronny Razin
Abstract: We analyze the dynamic short and long-run effects of immigration waves on attitudes towards immigrants and social cohesion. We consider a model in which both the home society and the immigrants have the same levels of cultural capacity for cooperation and mutual trust, but individuals in the home society have different degrees of prejudice about the culture of the immigrants. Prejudice is modelled as the beliefs of individuals in the home society about the immigrants' capacity for cooperation. We analyze social interactions in the presence of prejudice when individuals in the home society can segregate away from immigrants. We show that in societies with high levels of prejudice, segregation, by providing information about prejudice, can enhance cooperation in the short-term. However, when individuals learn and update their beliefs based on their experiences, segregation induces polarisation. Moreover, when individuals also socialise and exchange information in segregated communities, echo-chamber effects arise and imply that segregation reduces welfare and trust in society.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Segregation in high-prejudice societies (J15) | Enhanced cooperation (F55) |
| Segregation in high-prejudice societies (J15) | Induces polarization of beliefs (D72) |
| Induces polarization of beliefs (D72) | Reduces overall social cohesion (Z13) |
| Size of immigrant population (J11) | Non-monotonic effects on social cohesion (E71) |
| Larger immigration waves (K37) | Opportunities for learning and increased cooperation (I24) |
| Larger immigration waves (K37) | Heightened incentives for segregation and conflict (F51) |