Relational Skill Assets and Anti-immigrant Sentiments

• In Event: 594 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. Anti-immigrant Sentiments

Abstract

This study introduces a new variable in the area of sociology of work and workplace: relational dimensions of occupational skills. This paper highlights the role of occupational skill requirements in explaining native workers’ attitudes’ toward immigrants, by using a General Social Survey module (National Identity 2004). We construct two dimensions of relational skills: interpersonal and instrumental skill assets at the occupational level. Then, we create a new independent variable, “relational skill specificity,” which is a relative measure of interpersonal skills over instrumental skills in one’s occupation. Our hypothesis is that occupations with high levels of relational skill specificity have lower percentage of foreign-born workers. We also hypothesize that workers employed in jobs requiring a higher possession of interpersonal skills over the entire skill assets are less likely to develop strong anti-immigrant sentiments. The effects of relational skill specificity are highly significant and remain robust against different specifications, controlling for individual-level education along with other demographic, religious and political variables. The findings confirm both of our hypotheses. Relational skill specificity at the occupational level affects native worker’s sentiments toward immigrants both directly and indirectly, through affecting the exposure to job market competition with migrants. Different levels of anti-immigrant sentiments between skilled manual workers (e.g. craftsmen), and skilled non-manual workers (e.g. professionals), originate not only from different levels of cognitive skills but also from varying levels (or compositions) of relational skills. Overall, the findings of this study provide a novel pathway of causal explanation of how native workers develop their anti-immigrant sentiments.

Authors

• Naeyun Lee, University of Chicago

• Cheol-Sung Lee, University of Chicago