Group threat and voter turnout: evidence from a refugee placement program

Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel (2022) Group threat and voter turnout: evidence from a refugee placement program. Economics and Politics. ISSN 0954-1985

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Abstract

We study the impact of refugee inflows on voter turnout in Sweden in a period when shifting immigration patterns made the previously homogeneous country increasingly heterogeneous. Analyzing individual-level panel data and exploiting a national refugee placement program to obtain plausibly exogenous variation in immigration, we find that refugee inflows significantly raise the probability of voter turnout. Balancing tests on initial turnout as well as placebo tests regressing changes in turnout on future refugee inflows support the causal interpretation of our findings. The results are consistent with group-threat theory, which predicts that increased out-group presence spurs political mobilization among in-group members.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14680343
Additional Information:	© 2022 The Author.
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
Date Deposited:	23 Jun 2022 09:15
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 03:04
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/115423

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