Immigrant Rights Expansion and Local Integration: Evidence from Italy

Francesco Ferlenga and Stephanie Kang
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Francesco Ferlenga: Department of Economics, University of Warwick
Stephanie Kang: Market Development, ISO New England

CAGE Online Working Paper Series from Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE)

Abstract: We study how expanding immigrants' rights affects their political and social integration by leveraging Romania's 2007 EU accession, which granted Romanian immigrants in Italy municipal voting and residency rights. Using municipality-level event studies, we find: (1) Enfranchisement increased the election of Romanian-born councilors - especially in competitive races - despite limited changes in candidacy rates. It also increased Romanian turnout, suggesting that electoral gains stem from an expanded voter base. An instrumented difference-in-differences analysis shows this is driven by pre-existing Romanian residents, not new arrivals. (2) Consent to organ donation rose among Romanians post-2007, indicating that the expansion of rights extends to prosocial behavior. (3) Nonetheless, immigrant presence continues to raise support for right-leaning parties and security spending while reducing social spending, highlighting persistent native backlash that outweighs immigrant political influence.

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Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-eur, nep-pol, nep-tra and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cge:wacage:775

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