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Crossing the Cordillera: Immigrant Attributes and Chilean Attitudes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Duncan Lawrence
Duncan Lawrence*
Affiliation:
Immigration and Integration Policy Lab, Stanford University
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Abstract

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Are individuals opposed to immigration because of perceived job competition with immigrants? Despite almost two decades of research, the literature on immigration attitudes continues to struggle for a clear answer. This study is designed to evaluate the labor competition hypothesis in an alternative and important immigration context, Chile. The cultural proximity of natives and immigrants in Chile mitigates the issue of cultural threat and thus permits a focused appraisal of the role of economic competition. Also, the prevalence of both high- and low-skilled immigrant labor may generate competition in diverse employment sectors in Chile. Using data from an original Internet survey experiment, I test how an immigrant's skill level, country of origin, and ethnicity influence Chilean attitudes toward immigration. The results suggest that individual immigration attitudes are not influenced by concerns over job competition but rather evaluations as to the broader economic effects of certain types of immigrants. Well-educated Chileans, like their European and American counterparts, prefer immigrants who pursue high-skill employment.

Resumen

Resumen

¿Individuos están en oposición a la inmigración debido a una percibida competencia laboral con los inmigrantes? A pesar de casi dos décadas de investigación, la literatura sobre las actitudes hacia inmigración sigue buscando una respuesta clara. Este estudio está diseñado para evaluar la hipótesis de competencia laboral por utilizar un contexto de inmigración alternativa e importante, Chile. La proximidad cultural de los ciudadanos y los inmigrantes de Chile mitiga el tema de amenaza cultural y por eso se permite una evaluación enfocada en el papel de la competencia económica. Además, la prevalencia de trabajadores inmigrantes, tanto de alta y baja cualificaciones, puede generar competencia en los sectores diversos de empleo en Chile. Utilizando datos de un experimento de encuesta original realizado por internet, yo examino cómo el nivel de calificación de un inmigrante, el país de origen y la etnicidad influyen las actitudes hacia la inmigración. Los resultados sugieren que las actitudes individuales hacia la inmigración no estén influenciadas por las preocupaciones de la competencia laboral, sino que por las evaluaciones del impacto amplio de la economía de ciertos tipos de inmigrantes. Chilenos con un alto nivel de educación, parecidos a sus contrapartes europeos y norteamericanos, prefieren a los inmigrantes que persiguen el empleo que requiere calificación alta.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , 2015 , pp. 154 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by the Latin American Studies Association

Footnotes

I greatly appreciate the advice and comments provided by the anonymous reviewers. I also wish to acknowledge comments and feedback from Andy Baker, Joanne Belknap, David Brown, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Dan Hopkins, Johannes Karreth, Annie Kryzanek, Irfan Nooruddin, Tim Reeskens, Anand Sokhey, Szymon Stojek, Jenny Wolak, and panel participants at the 2012 Midwest Political Science Association conference. I would like to thank the Chilean Fulbright Commission as well as Gonzalo Delamaza, Eduardo Thayer, and the staff at the Centro de Investigación en Sociedad y Políticas Públicas (CISPO) for support while revising the manuscript. This research was approved by the University of Colorado Institutional Review Board (12-0032). Any errors that remain are my own.

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