Has the Economic Recession in Europe Increased Anti-Immigrant Attitudes? Evidence from 22 European Countries.

Have the economic crisis, economic insecurity and unemployment increased anti-immigrant attitudes like xenophobia and welfare chauvinism in Europe? To find out, I analyze data from European Social Survey from 2006 to 2012 (Rounds 3 to 6) covering 22 European countries. I apply multi-level methods combining survey data with macro level data. As expected, the results indicate that the economic decline has had a positive effect on anti-immigration attitudes, especially among the unemployed and those in the weakest position in the labor market. Moreover, the evidence suggests that economic insecurity correlates positively with welfare chauvinism, especially in the countries with the least generous social security system. However, the general attitudinal climate has not turned more negative towards immigrants in Europe. Rather, a slight tendency of polarization of attitudes can be observed because the better-off people and nations have adopted more positive stances towards immigrants during the research period.