How Settlement Locations and Local Networks Influence Immigrant Political Integration

Bernt Bratsberg (), Jeremy Ferwerda, Henning Finseraas and Andreas Kotsadam
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Henning Finseraas: Institute for Social Research

No 1918, RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series from Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM)

Abstract: To what extent do early experiences in the host country shape the political integration of immigrants? We argue that the initial neighborhoods immigrants settle in establish patterns of behavior that influence subsequent political participation. Using Norwegian administrative register data, we leverage quasi-exogenous variation in the placement of refugees to assess the consequences of assignment to particular neighborhoods. We find that the di erence in turnout between refugees initially placed in 20th and 80th percentile neighborhoods is 12.6 percentage points, which represents 47 percent of the participation gap between refugees and residents. To assess the mechanism, we draw on individual level data on all neighbors present at the time of each refugees' arrival, and evaluate the relative impact of neighborhood characteristics and available social networks. Our findings suggest that while neighborhood socioeconomic factors play a limited role, early exposure to politically engaged neighbors and peer cohort increases immigrants' turnout over the long run.

Keywords: Voter turnout; minorities; immigration; social networks; Western Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int, nep-mig, nep-soc and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:crm:wpaper:1918

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