Anastasia Gorodzeisky

TL;DR: This article examined change over time in sentiments toward outgroup populations in European societies and found that anti-foreigner sentiment was steep in the early period (between 1988 and 1994), then leveled off after that.

TL;DR: This paper examined the extent to which attitudes toward foreigners vary across European countries using data from the European Social Survey for 21 countries and found that negative attitudes towards foreigners tend to be more pronounced in countries characterized by large proportions of foreigners, where economic conditions are less prosperous, and where support for right-wing political parties is more prevalent.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined gender differences in patterns of labor market activity, economic behavior and economic outcomes among labor migrants, focusing on Filipina and Filipino overseas workers, and found that men and women are likely to take different jobs and to migrate to different destinations.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that exclusionary views towards out-group populations are formed along two dimensions: exclusion from the country and exclusion from equal rights, and that objection to admission can be directed either at all non-nationals or only at ethnic and racial minorities.

Abstract: The article examines the role of prejudice toward racial and ethnic minorities in shaping attitudes toward immigrants across 19 European countries. Previous studies established that fear of competition (i.e., competitive threat) is likely to increase negative attitudes toward immigrants. Using data from the 2010 European Social Survey, we find that not only competitive threat but also racial prejudice toward non-European/non-White minority population is likely to increase negative attitudes toward all immigrants in Europe. Moreover, racial prejudice does not mediate the effect of competitive threat on anti-immigrant attitudes, but exert an independent additive effect. The impact of racial prejudice on attitudes toward immigrants tends to increase with the relative size of the non-European racial minority population in the country. The influx of immigrants into Europe over the past decades has dramatically changed the ethnic makeup of many European societies. Currently, many European cities that, until recently, had been racially and ethnically homogeneous now include sizeable communities of immigrants of non-European origin (Glikman & Semyonov, 2012; Salt, 2005). The presence of new immigrant communities in Europe not only changed the ethnic fabric of European society, but also became associated with rise of anti-immigrant sentiment. Subsequently, the body of research that focuses on sources of xenophobia and negative attitudes toward immigrants across European societies has grown and became substantial (e.g., for review of this literature, see Ceobanu & Escandell, 2010). The growing body of research on the issue All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Anastasia Gorodzeisky, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 39040, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel. E-mail: anastasiag@post.tau.ac.il International Journal of Public Opinion Research Advance Access published September 4, 2015 at T E L A V IV U N IV E R IT Y on Sptem er 6, 2015 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from has resulted in twofold findings: First, negative attitudes toward immigrants in European societies have risen and become substantial (although Meuleman, Davidov, & Billiet, 2009 and Pichler, 2010 did not find a further increase in negative attitudes in recent years); and, second, negative attitudes tend to increase with the relative size of the non-European immigrant population (Schlueter & Scheepers, 2010; Semyonov, Raijman, & Gorodzeisky, 2006). The positive association between size of the immigrant population and anti-immigrant attitudes had been usually explained when cast within the framework of the ‘‘competitive threat’’ theoretical model (e.g., Blalock, 1967; Blumer, 1958; Bobo & Hutchings, 1996). The logic embodied in this model contends that increased presence of immigrants in a community is likely to prompt fears of competition (whether actual or perceived) over social and economic resources. Fear of competition, in turn, engenders negative attitudes toward immigrants (Quillian, 1995; Scheepers, Gijsberts, & Coenders, 2002; Semyonov et al., 2006). Likewise—and consistent with the logic embodied in the competitive threat model—individuals of low socioeconomic position are more likely to express negative attitudes toward immigrants than individuals of high socioeconomic status, owing to a fear of competition derived from their social and economic vulnerability (Espenshade & Hempstead, 1996; Raijman, Semyonov, & Schmidt, 2003). Although most recent research on the topic stresses the impact of a fear of competition on the emergence of negative attitudes toward immigrants, such attitudes can be also driven by racial prejudice. According to Sears (1988) (see also Kinders & Sears, 1981; Sears & Henry, 2003), racial antipathy and negative beliefs regarding out-group populations are often rooted in an abstract system of early-learned moral values and ideals regarding racial and ethnic minorities, regardless of fear of competition. Negative attitudes toward immigrants, then, can reflect a system of beliefs and attitudes toward ethnic and racial out-group populations, a system of beliefs acquired through the socialization process. Following this logic, it is reasonable to expect attitudes toward immigrants to be influenced not only by competitive threat but also by prejudice toward racial and ethnic minorities, especially in the context of the European national states. Indeed, ethnicity and race may play a major role in shaping attitudes toward immigrants in Europe. The findings presented by Gorodzeisky and Semyonov (2009), for example, reveal that attitudes of Europeans toward inclusion of immigrants in society are influenced by the ethnic origin of immigrants. More specifically, Europeans are more willing to endorse exclusion of immigrants of non-European origin than immigrants of European origin. Following these findings, one may expect negative attitudes toward immigrants and immigration to be more pronounced among those holding prejudicial views toward racial and ethnic minorities than among those not holding such views, regardless of any fear of competition. I N T E R N A T I O N A L J O U R N A L O F P U B L I C O P I N I O N R E S E A R C H 2 at T E L A V IV U N IV E R IT Y on Sptem er 6, 2015 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from Curiously, whereas the overwhelming majority of the comparative studies on attitudes toward immigrants in Europe were cast within the competitive threat theoretical framework, only a few studies examined the impact of racial and ethnic prejudice on attitudes toward immigrants in European countries (for notable example, see Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995; Pettigrew, 1998; Vala, Lopes, & Lima, 2008). These studies focused on the role of prejudice with regard to specific ethnic groups (e.g., West-Indians, Turks, etc.), however, without considering the role of competitive threat. The present research contributes to the comparative study of public views toward immigrants by examining, for the first time, the role played by racial prejudice toward non-European/non-White minority population in affecting attitudes toward all immigrants in Europe net of competitive threat. Specifically, in the analysis that follows, we focus on the impact of racial prejudice on emergence of negative attitudes toward immigrants across European countries while considering competitive threat both at the individual level and the country level in two distinct ways. First, we examine whether prejudice is embedded in threat, hence, whether racial prejudice mostly mediates the effect of competitive threat on attitudes toward immigrants or whether prejudice exerts independent impact on attitudes toward immigrants net of threat. Second, we examine whether structural threat interacts with racial prejudice in affecting attitudes toward immigrants in general. Specifically, we examine whether the impact of prejudice on anti-immigrant sentiment is likely to increase under conditions of intense competitive threat. By so doing, we provide insights into the role played by racial prejudice toward non-European/non-White minority population in shaping attitudes toward immigrants in the context of European societies. Theoretical Framework According to the competitive threat theoretical model, discriminatory attitudes, prejudice, antagonism, and hostility against out-group populations can be seen as a reaction to perceived threat to the economic and social interests of the majority group members (Blalock, 1967; Blumer, 1958; Bobo & Hutchings, 1996). The threat of competition can stem from two major sources: structurallevel contextual characteristics of society (e.g., the size of out-group population residing in the community or economic conditions); and individual-level attributes, especially one’s socioeconomic position and cultural and politicalnational orientation (e.g., measured indicators of social and economic status or vulnerability and of cultural values). The competitive threat theoretical model has received considerable support and affirmation through a large number of studies across a wide range of societies (e.g., for a review of this literature in Europe, see Ceobanu & T H R E A T , P R E J U D I C E , A N D A N T I I M M I G R A N T A T T I T U D E S 3 at T E L A V IV U N IV E R IT Y on Sptem er 6, 2015 http://ijpoordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from Escandel (2010); see also studies by Wilkes, Guppy, & Faris (2008) for Canada; Bobo & Hutching (1996) for the United States). More specifically, previous research has repeatedly demonstrated that discrimination and negative attitudes toward immigrants or racial minorities tend to rise with the relative size of the minority population in the community and where economic conditions are depressed (Pichler, 2010; Quillian, 1995; Scheepers et al., 2002; Semyonov et al., 2006; Schlueter & Scheepers, 2010). Studies also demonstrate that socioeconomically vulnerable individuals (e.g., unemployed, low education, and/or low income) are more likely to feel threatened by competition; hence, they are more likely to express negative attitudes toward members of the out-group population (Scheeppers et al., 2002; Esses, Davidio, Jackson, & Amstrong, 2001 for Europe; Espenshade & Hempstade, 1996 for the United States). Likewise, individuals holding conservative views and ideologies (religiously observant individuals, those with a right-wing political orientation and national ideology, and older people) are more likely to express negative attitudes toward an out-group population because of sense of threat posed by out-group populations to the majority’s national-cultural traditions, values, and ethnic homogeneity (Castles & Miller, 1993; Gorodziesky & Semyonov, 2009; Wimmer, 1997). Studies that introduced prejudice into the competitive threat theoretical model (e.g., Gorodzeisky, 2013; Verberk, Scheepers, & Feeling, 2002) view prejudice