The Determinants of Islamophobia – An Empirical Analysis of the Swiss Minaret Referendum

Olga Orlanski and Günther Schulze
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Olga Orlanski: CESifo

No 35, Discussion Paper Series from Department of International Economic Policy, University of Freiburg

Abstract: We analyze the determinants of Islamophobia using the only nation-wide anti-Islam referendum ever, which was held in Switzerland in 2009 and led to the prohibition of minarets. We find economic, environmental, and cultural factors as well as the presence of Muslims to determine voting behavior. Approval rates for the bill rise with unemployment and decrease with education, income, and the attractiveness of the location. Approval is higher in rural areas, in municipalities with a higher share of men, and in the Italian and German speaking parts of Switzerland. It is higher in municipalities with a higher share of Muslims, which strongly supports the ’religious threat’ hypothesis. We compare the voting behavior in the minaret referendum with the referendum “for democratic naturalizations”, held in 2008, in order to disentangle determinants of Islamophobia from those of xenophobia. We show that our results are robust to the estimation with ecological inference.

Keywords: Referendum; Minaret referendum; Islamophobia; Xenophobia; Ecological Fallacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D78 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 54 pages
Date: 2018-01, Revised 2018-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-eur and nep-pol
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Working Paper: The Determinants of Islamophobia - An Empirical Analysis of the Swiss Minaret Referendum (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fre:wpaper:35

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