Immigration restriction and the transfer of cultural norms over time and boundaries: the case of religiosity

Fausto Galli, Simone Manzavino and Giuseppe Russo
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Fausto Galli: University of Salerno
Simone Manzavino: University of Salerno

JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, 2024, vol. 90, issue 4, 626-658

Abstract: We study the effect of an immigration ban on the self-selection of immigrants along cultural traits, and the transmission of these traits to the second generation. We show theoretically that restricting immigration incentivizes to settle abroad individuals with higher attachment to their origin culture, who, under free mobility, would rather choose circular migration. Once abroad, these individuals tend to convey their cultural traits to their children. As a consequence, restrictive immigration policies can foster the diffusion of cultural traits across boundaries and generations. We focus on religiosity, which is one of the most persistent and distinctive cultural traits, and exploit the 1973 immigration ban in West Germany (Anwerbestopp) as a natural experiment. Through a diff-in-diff analysis, we find that second generations born to parents treated by the Anwerbestopp show higher religiosity.

Keywords: Cultural transmission; Immigration policy; Religiosity; Second-generation immigrand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 F22 J15 K37 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-12-01
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https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2024.17 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Immigration Restriction and The Transfer of Cultural Norms Over Time and Boundaries:The Case of Religiosity (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:90:y:2024:i:4:p:626-658

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