Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7592
Authors: Giovanni Facchini; Anna Maria Mayda
Abstract: It is commonly argued that skilled immigration benefits the destination country through several channels. Yet, only a small group of countries reports to have policies in place aimed at increasing the intake of skilled immigrants. Why? In this paper we analyze the factors that affect a direct measure of individual attitudes towards skilled migration, focusing on two main channels: the labor market and the welfare state. We find that more educated natives are less likely to favor skilled immigration - consistent with the labor-market channel - while richer people are more likely to do so - in accordance with the welfare state channel under the tax adjustment model. Our findings thus suggest that the labor market competition threat perceived by skilled natives in the host countries might be driving the observed cautious policies.
Keywords: attitudes; immigration policy; political economy; skilled immigration
JEL Codes: F22; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| individual skill level (Z22) | pro-skilled migration attitudes (F22) |
| real income (D31) | pro-skilled migration attitudes (F22) |
| education (I29) | pro-skilled migration attitudes (F22) |
| income (E25) | pro-skilled migration attitudes (F22) |