Political Hedgehogs: The Geographical Sorting of Refugees in Sweden

Johan Wennström and Özge Öner

No 1266, Working Paper Series from Research Institute of Industrial Economics

Abstract: This study shows that in Sweden, contrary to other European countries, refugees have been disproportionately placed in peripheral and rural areas with high unemployment and rapid native depopulation where the prospects for integration, both socially and economically, are poor. We explore and evaluate some potential reasons for this outcome. Factors such as an intimidating political and intellectual climate in favor of receiving large numbers of asylum seekers and immigrants and the economic support given by the central government to municipalities that accept refugees are not sufficient to understand the actions of rural local governments. Instead, we argue that Tetlock’s seminal work on “expert political judgment” may provide a useful approach for understanding the seemingly irrational actions of local politicians in rural and peripheral municipalities.​

Keywords: Hedgehog/fox metaphor; Immigration; Political judgment; Rational choice; Social capital; Urbanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 J61 O15 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2019-02-26, Revised 2020-03-27
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-mig and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1266

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