Bitterness in Life and Attitudes Towards Immigration

27 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2015

See all articles by Panu Poutvaara

Panu Poutvaara

University of Helsinki - Department of Economics; Helsinki Center of Economic Research (HECER); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Max Friedrich Steinhardt

Free University of Berlin (FUB) - Department of Business and Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Centro Studi Luca D'Agliano (LdA); Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI)

Date Written: October 2015

Abstract

Integration of immigrants is a two-way process, the success of which depends both on immigrants and on natives. We provide new evidence on the determinants of individual attitudes towards immigration, using data from the 2005 and 2010 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel. In particular, we show that bitterness in life is strongly associated with worries about immigration. This effect cannot be explained just by concerns that immigrants are competing with oneself in the labor market. Instead, it appears that people who feel that they have not got what they deserve in life oppose immigration for spiteful reasons.

Keywords: Immigration, bitterness, native attitudes

JEL Classification: D72, F22, J61

Suggested Citation

Poutvaara, Panu and Steinhardt, Max Friedrich, Bitterness in Life and Attitudes Towards Immigration (October 2015). SOEPpaper No. 800, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2698613 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2698613

Panu Poutvaara (Contact Author)

University of Helsinki - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 54
FIN-00014 Helsinki
Finland

HOME PAGE: http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/blogs/poutvaar/

Helsinki Center of Economic Research (HECER) ( email )

FI-00014 Helsinki
Finland

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Max Friedrich Steinhardt

Free University of Berlin (FUB) - Department of Business and Economics ( email )

Boltzmannstrasse 20
D-14195 Berlin, 14195
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Centro Studi Luca D'Agliano (LdA) ( email )

Via P. Amedeo 34
Milano, Mi 20122
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/maxfriedrichsteinhardt/

Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) ( email )

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Hamburg, 20148
Germany
0049-40-340576-662 (Phone)
0049-(0)40-340576776 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/maxfriedrichsteinhardt/

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