Do Sociotropic Concerns Mask Prejudice? Experimental Evidence on the Sources of Public Opposition to Immigration

2020 ◽  
pp. 003232172094616
Author(s):  
Omer Solodoch
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Cultural Implications ◽  
Ethnic Biases ◽  
Rich Data ◽  
Public Opposition

Does opposition to immigration mostly stem from prejudice or from sociotropic concerns about broad economic and cultural implications on the nation as a whole? Previous work on immigration preferences cannot answer this question because the two explanations are observationally equivalent when focusing on the attitudes of natives. I analyze a unique survey experiment that asks both natives and immigrants of various origins to evaluate different profiles of visa applicants to the Netherlands. The experiment also assigns an “ingroup treatment”—applications by individuals of the same ethnocultural background as the respondent. Using this rich data, I show that sociotropic concerns are the major source of immigration preferences, while ethnic biases play a moderate role. Remarkably, the ingroup treatment has limited effects on admission. However, bias against specific immigrant groups is detected in preferences of immigrant respondents and of those who sympathize with the far-right Freedom Party.

Populist and nativist attitudes: Does ingroup-outgroup thinking spill over across domains?

2021 ◽  
pp. 146511652199287
Author(s):  
Matthijs Rooduijn ◽  
Bart Bonikowski ◽  
Jante Parlevliet
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Muslim Immigrants ◽  
Immigration Attitudes ◽  
Moral Frameworks ◽  
Ingroup Outgroup

What are the attitudinal consequences of the growing pervasiveness of populism and nativism? We conceive of both populism and nativism as binary moral frameworks predicated on an antagonistic relationship between ‘us’ and ‘them’. Our study investigates the presence of spillover effects between these two forms of ingroup-outgroup thinking among survey respondents in the Netherlands. We posit that exposure to populist (nativist) messages fuels nativism (populism), but only among those positively predisposed toward these messages in the first place. A first survey experiment, focusing on antipathies toward refugees and Muslim immigrants, confirms the former expectation, but a second experiment calls into question the latter hypothesis. Moreover, the second experiment does not replicate the effects of populist message exposure on general immigration attitudes. We discuss several possible reasons for these mixed results.

scholarly journals Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (17) ◽  
pp. e2022376118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Engzell ◽  
Arun Frey ◽  
Mark D. Verhagen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Learning Loss ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
School Year ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Face To Face Instruction ◽  
Rich Data

Suspension of face-to-face instruction in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to concerns about consequences for students’ learning. So far, data to study this question have been limited. Here we evaluate the effect of school closures on primary school performance using exceptionally rich data from The Netherlands (n ≈ 350,000). We use the fact that national examinations took place before and after lockdown and compare progress during this period to the same period in the 3 previous years. The Netherlands underwent only a relatively short lockdown (8 wk) and features an equitable system of school funding and the world’s highest rate of broadband access. Still, our results reveal a learning loss of about 3 percentile points or 0.08 standard deviations. The effect is equivalent to one-fifth of a school year, the same period that schools remained closed. Losses are up to 60% larger among students from less-educated homes, confirming worries about the uneven toll of the pandemic on children and families. Investigating mechanisms, we find that most of the effect reflects the cumulative impact of knowledge learned rather than transitory influences on the day of testing. Results remain robust when balancing on the estimated propensity of treatment and using maximum-entropy weights or with fixed-effects specifications that compare students within the same school and family. The findings imply that students made little or no progress while learning from home and suggest losses even larger in countries with weaker infrastructure or longer school closures.

Representation and Government

2020 ◽  
pp. 204-233
Author(s):  
Catherine E. De Vries ◽  
Sara B. Hobolt
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Government Formation ◽  
German Politics ◽  
Responsible Government ◽  
Government Stability ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Alternative For Germany

This chapter highlights the impact of the rise of challenger parties on both representation and responsible government. It begins by examining whether voters are more mobilized and feel more represented in systems with greater choice and more challenger parties. The chapter also looks at how the rise of a new challenger, the Alternative for Germany, on the far right in German politics has had a mobilizing effect on citizens. It then turns to the effect on government stability. The chapter shows that it is more difficult to form a government as the share of challenger parties rises and, importantly, the governments that are formed are less stable. Finally, it discusses the specific examples of government formation in Belgium and government instability in the Netherlands.

Misperceptions of Chinese Investments in Canada and Their Correction: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojun Li ◽  
Yingqiu Kuang ◽  
Linting Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Direct Investment ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Corrective Information ◽  
Business Ties ◽  
Public Opposition

AbstractForeign direct investment (FDI) from China has recently met with increasing public opposition in many host nations. Why does the public respond less favourably to Chinese FDI than to FDI from other countries? We explore this question by conducting a series of survey experiments in Canada, where the majority of the public holds a negative opinion of Chinese investment. We find that the bias can be attributed to innumeracy about the relative size of China's FDI and misinformation about investment rules that govern FDI projects in Canada. Correcting both misperceptions substantially reduces the bias of respondents against FDI projects from China. These results suggest that corrective information can lead to positive change in public attitudes, a finding that has important policy implications for Canadian leaders hoping to expand the country's business ties with China.

Support at Any Distance? The Role of Location and Prejudice in Public Opposition to the “Ground Zero Mosque”

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (04) ◽  
pp. 753-759
Author(s):  
Brian F. Schaffner
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
York City ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Ground Zero ◽  
Multicultural Center ◽  
Public Opposition

AbstractIn 2010, a debate erupted about plans to construct a mosque (as part of a larger multicultural center) approximately two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City. The main justification given by those who opposed the mosque was that building it so close to Ground Zero would appear to be insensitive. Public opinion appeared to support this notion, as large majorities of Americans registered their opposition to the mosque in surveys conducted at the time. In this article, I examine whether distance was, in fact, an important factor influencing citizens' opposition to the mosque. Using a survey experiment, I asked for opinions on the building of a mosque while randomizing how far the mosque was located from Ground Zero. Results from the experiment indicate that opposition to the mosque was unaffected by how far the mosque would be located from Ground Zero, but strongly influenced by factors such as partisanship, ideology, and tolerance for out groups.

The Netherlands, the Challenge of Lijst Pim Fortuyn, and the Third Way

Politics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Bruff
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
General Election ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Third Way ◽  
Election Result ◽  
The Third

The shock 2002 general election result in the Netherlands has provided a wake-up call to those who believed it would withstand the Europe-wide rise of the far right more successfully than others. This article firstly investigates why Lijst Pim Fortuyn performed so well, and suggests that its popularity owes more to its anti-establishment stance than its xenophobic outlook. The second half of the article links the upheavals to normative deficiencies in the ‘third way’ framework, and concludes that a more distinctive left-of-centre agenda needs to be formulated, both in itself and in relation to containing the far right.

Economic prospects may boost Dutch mainstream parties

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Healthcare Provision ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Eu

Subject Political and economic consequences of austerity in the Netherlands. Significance The popularity of the Dutch governing parties has declined steadily since they came into power in 2012. The absolute winner in the polls continues to be the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders. There are signs, however, that mainstream parties are coming back into favour, thanks to a combination of promising economic prospects and relatively stable immigration levels. Impacts The EU, healthcare provision, integration and care of the elderly are likely to be key themes during the election campaign. Calls for a referendum on the withdrawal of the Netherlands from the EU -- a 'Nexit' -- are likely to intensify. Prospects for the Labour Party in the next election will depend on whom the party elects as its leader.

scholarly journals Attitudes toward Highly Skilled and Low-skilled Immigration: Evidence from a Survey Experiment—Erratum

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 624-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
JENS HAINMUELLER ◽  
MICHAEL J. HISCOX
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Political Science ◽  
American Political Science Review ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Science Review ◽  
Skilled Immigrants ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Skilled Immigration ◽  
American Political Science ◽  
First Time

In their article in the February 2010 issue of APSR, Jens Hainmueller and Michael J. Hiscox (2010) asserted that they had “conducted a unique survey experiment that, for the first time, explicitly and separately examine[d] individuals’ attitudes toward highly skilled and low-skilled immigrants.” That claim was in error. A prior survey experiment, also published in the American Political Science Review, in February 2004, examined attitudes toward highly skilled and low-skilled immigrants in the Netherlands and assigned respondents randomly to alternative questions (Sniderman, Hagendoorn, and Prior 2004).

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