Information Shocks, Attitudes toward Immigrants, and Hate Crime

Jake Bradley, Facundo Albornoz, Silvia Sonderegger, Jesus Rodriguez and Devesh Rustagi
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Jake Bradley: University of Nottingham
Facundo Albornoz: University of Nottingham
Silvia Sonderegger: University of Nottingham
Jesus Rodriguez: University of Nottingham
Devesh Rustagi: University of Warwick

The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) from University of Warwick, Department of Economics

Abstract: There are concerns over the rise in populism and hate crimes targeting minorities in democracies. We examine whether national information shocks triggered by political events play a role. Focusing on two UK events that revealed nationwide anti-immigrant sentiment, we document counterintuitive results: large persistent surges in hate crimes in the post-event periods in areas with pro-immigrant, rather than anti-immigrant, attitudes. We show that the xenophobic minority residing in pro-immigrant areas experience stronger belief shocks from these events, inducing them to update their beliefs about social acceptability of hate. Our findings highlight how heterogeneous priors interact with national events to amplify xenophobic behavior

Keywords: Information shocks; attitudes towards immigrants; hate crimes; United Kingdom JEL codes: C72; D80; P0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wrk:warwec:1611

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