Long Term Effects of Migration Policy: Whitening Policies & Affirmative Action in Brazil

• In Event: Migrants, Public Opinion, and Policy Preferences in Europe and the Americas

Abstract

What are the long run effects of immigrant settling policies on preferences for redistributive policy? This paper aims to answer this question using Brazil as a case study. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Southern Brazil promoted a series of ongoing ``whitening policies'' intended to bring European migrants to the country. Although there was considerable variation in settling policies, most of them could be divided into two categories. They could either give land to migrants within Núcleos Coloniais, or they could provide migrant labor to specific booming industries (in particular coffee fazendas). Each policy will create a realignment of the size and standing of different groups that endure over time and has effects on preferences over redistributive policies across ethnic groups. In this paper, I analyze the long-term consequences of these policies in Brazil's current levels of support for affirmative action through the combination of archival work and an original survey work.

Author

• Mateo Villamizar Chaparro, Universidad Católica de Uruguay