Refugee reception, extreme-right voting, and compositional amenities: Evidence from Italian municipalities

Matteo Gamalerio, Mario Luca, Alessio Romarri and Max Viskanic

Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2023, vol. 100, issue C

Abstract: We use data from Italy to study the political and social impact of a refugee reception policy (SPRAR) directly managed by local governments, whose features recall the conditions of the contact theory (Allport, 1954). Instrumental variables estimates indicate that municipalities that opened a refugee center between the 2013 and 2018 national elections experienced a change in the vote shares of extreme-right parties that is approximately 7 percentage points lower compared to municipalities that did not open a refugee center. We document that the positive impact of SPRARs on “compositional amenities” (i.e., local schools) and population growth allows explaining the negative impact on anti-immigrant prejudice. Finally, we provide evidence of spillovers in prejudice reduction in neighboring municipalities without a SPRAR.

Keywords: Refugee reception; Far-right parties; Compositional amenities; Spillover effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C36 D72 J15 P16 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:regeco:v:100:y:2023:i:c:s0166046223000273

DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2023.103892

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