Europeans’ Immigrant Preferences: How Immigrant Characteristics Determine Desirability

• In Event: 2384 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Attitudes Towards Immigrants

Abstract

Using data from the 2014 European Social Survey (ESS), this paper examines Europeans’ tolerance toward immigrants. Characteristics of immigrants play an important role in determining Europeans’ tolerance towards immigrants. This paper contributes to the existing literature by examining how Europeans’ attitudes toward immigration are influenced by the traits of immigrants already residing in their respective countries. We find that immigrants who are male, educated, wealthy, and unmarried are more welcome than immigrants who are female, uneducated, poor, or married. Europeans are the most welcoming to professional immigrant groups from poor European countries, while they are the least welcome to Muslim and unskilled immigrants from poor-non-European country. In addition, it is important to immigrants to be white, have a demanded skill and Christian background as well as willing to adapt the life in Europeans societies in order for Europeans show tolerance to their emigration.

Authors

• Sevsem Cicek-Okay, University of Cincinnati

• David J. Maume, University of Cincinnati