@article{7d5c03f5e5924f28b37927822211f362,
title = "Why do citizens prefer high-skilled immigrants to low-skilled immigrants? Identifying causal mechanisms of immigration preferences with a survey experiment",
abstract = "Why do citizens prefer high-skilled immigrants to low-skilled immigrants? To understand the causal mechanism behind this tendency among citizens, we conducted a vignette survey experiment that enables us to clarify the role of multiple mediators. We specifically focused on three key factors that have been proposed in existing research as those that could lead citizens to welcome high-skilled immigrants: expectations of economic contribution, welfare contribution, and small crime potential. We found that the skill premium was fully eliminated when natives were informed that immigrants would be engaged in low-skill jobs in the host country, which underscores the essential role that post-migration work plays in the acceptance of immigrants by natives. Our findings provide suggestive evidence that natives welcome high-skilled immigrants simply because they expect economic benefits from high-skilled immigrants, not because they expect them to contribute to welfare or be less likely to commit crimes.",
keywords = "attitudes, immigration, political economy, survey experiment, voters",
author = "Akira Igarashi and Hirofumi Miwa and Yoshikuni Ono",
note = "Funding Information: We are grateful for helpful comments and suggestions by Charles Crabtree at Dartmouth College, Koji Kagotani at Osaka University of Economics, and seminar participants at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) and the Japanese Society for Quantitative Political Science. This study was conducted as part of the project ?Advanced Technology and Democracy: Does new technology help or hurt democracy?? at RIETI. The survey experiment described in this manuscript has received IRB approval from Tohoku University. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was financially supported by the RIETI and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research: 18H00813, 19H01449, 19H00584, and 20H00059). Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was financially supported by the RIETI and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research: 18H00813, 19H01449, 19H00584, and 20H00059). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2022.",
year = "2022",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1177/20531680221091439",
language = "English",
volume = "9",
journal = "Research and Politics",
issn = "2053-1680",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "2",
}