Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP6066
Authors: Graziella Bertocchi; Chiara Strozzi
Abstract: We investigate the origin and evolution of the legal institution of citizenship from a political economy perspective. We compile a new data set on citizenship laws across countries of the world which documents how these institutions have evolved in the postwar period. We show that, despite a persistent impact of the original legislation, they have responded endogenously and systematically to a number of economic determinants, such as migration, the size of government, and the demographic structure of the population. Overall, a large stock of migrants decreases the probability of adoption of a mix of jus soli and jus sanguinis provisions, while it pushes jus sanguinis countries toward the adoption of jus soli elements. The welfare burden proves not to be an obstacle for a jus soli legislation, while demographic stagnation encourages the adoption of mixed and jus soli regimes. We also gauge the potential role of legal, political and cultural determinants, and find that a jus sanguinis origin is a factor of resistance to change, that a high degree of democracy promotes the adoption of jus soli elements while the instability of state borders associated with decolonization impedes it, and that cultural factors have no impact.
Keywords: borders; citizenship laws; democracy; international migration; legal origins
JEL Codes: F22; K40; O15; P16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| large stock of migrants (F22) | likelihood of adopting a mixed regime of jus soli and jus sanguinis (F55) |
| large stock of migrants (F22) | jus sanguinis countries incorporating jus soli elements (F55) |
| demographic stagnation (J11) | adoption of mixed and jus soli regimes (K37) |
| jus sanguinis origin (F22) | legislative change (K20) |
| high degree of democracy (D72) | adoption of jus soli elements (K37) |
| instability of state borders (F55) | likelihood of adopting jus soli provisions (K37) |
| cultural factors (Z10) | citizenship laws (K37) |