Analyzing political preferences of second-generation immigrants across the rural-urban divide
Moriconi, Simone (Université de Lille)
Peri, Giovanni (University of California)
Turati, Riccardo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	This paper analyzes the political preferences of immigrants' offspring in relation to the rural-urban divide of political preferences in European countries. Using data on individual voting behavior and political preferences in 22 European countries between 2001 and 2017, we analyze whether second-generation immigrants have different preferences on a left-right political spectrum, relative to other natives. We show that they have a significant left-wing preference after controlling for a large set of individual characteristics and origin fixed effects. In spite of their concentration in urban areas, where native residents are also more left-leaning than the average, this difference is not a result of their location, as the difference is particularly strong in non-urban areas. Second-generation immigrants are also more likely to be politically active, to participate in demonstrations or petitions and to exhibit stronger preferences for inequality-reducing government intervention, internationalism and multiculturalism. Growing up with an immigrant father experiencing challenges in his labor market integration seems to be the stronger predictor of the left-wing preference of second-generation.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2021-124713OB-I00
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Cities ; Elections ; Europe ; Immigration
Published in:	Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 146 (2025) , p. 103740, ISSN 1095-9068

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103740

18 p, 1.4 MB

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