Immigration and nationalism: The importance of identity

Francesco Flaviano Russo

European Economic Review, 2021, vol. 137, issue C

Abstract: I study how immigration affected electoral outcomes in Italy accounting for changes in the immigrants identity, measured as their cultural distance from the natives. I consider three metrics of cultural distance based on language, on religion and on genetic traits which are related to the vertical transmission of values and norms across generations. I find that the increased cultural distance between immigrants and natives determined more votes for nationalist, anti-immigration, parties, although this is not the result of increased religious distance. The immigrant share does not explain electoral outcomes once either of the three distance metrics is accounted for.

Keywords: Elections; Culture; Language; Religion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:137:y:2021:i:c:s0014292121001343

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103781

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