How Settlement Locations and Local Networks Influence Immigrant Political Integration
Lenke til artikkel:
Forfattere:
Bratsberg, Bernt, Jeremy Ferwerda, Henning Finseraas and Andreas Kotsadam
År:
2019
Referanse:
Andre skrifter
CReAM discussion paper no 18/19
Sammendrag (engelsk)
To what extent do early experiences in the host country shape the political integration of immigrants? We argue that the initial neighborhoods immigrants settle in establish patterns of behavior that in uence subsequent political participation. Using Norwegian administrative register data, we leverage quasi-exogenous variation in the placement of refugees to assess the consequences of assignment to particular neighborhoods. We find that the difference in turnout between refugees initially placed in 20th and 80th percentile neighborhoods is 12.6 percentage points, which represents 47 percent of the participation gap between refugees and residents. To assess the mechanism, we draw on individual-level data on all neighbors present at the time of each refugees' arrival, and evaluate the relative impact of neighborhood characteristics and available social networks. Our findings suggest that while neighborhood socioeconomic factors play a limited role, early exposure to politically engaged neighbors and peer cohorts increases immigrants' turnout over the long run.
Prosjekt info:
Oppdragsgiver: NORFACE via UiOOppdragsgivers prosjektnr.: 462-14-082
Frisch prosjekt: 1223 - Globalisation, Institutions and the Welfare State
Oppdragsgiver: Norges Forskningsråd
Oppdragsgivers prosjektnr.: 270772
Frisch prosjekt: 1672 - Sustaining the welfare and working life model in a diversified society
