American Economic Review Vol. 114 No. 2 2024

The Immigrant Next Door

Leonardo Bursztyn¹; Thomas Chaney²; Tarek A. Hassan³; Aakaash Rao⁴

¹ University of Chicago and NBER (email: ) · ² University of Southern California, Sciences Po, and CEPR (email: ) · ³ Boston University, NBER, and CEPR (email: ) · ⁴ Harvard University (email: )

Abstract

We study how decades-long exposure to individuals of a given foreign descent shapes natives’ attitudes and behavior toward that group. Using individualized donations data, we show that long-term exposure to a given foreign ancestry leads to more generous behavior specifically toward that group’s ancestral country. Focusing on exposure to Arab Muslims to examine mechanisms, we show that long-term exposure (i) decreases explicit and implicit prejudice against Arab Muslims, (ii) reduces support for policies and political candidates hostile toward Arab Muslims, (iii) increases charitable donations to Arab countries, (iv) leads to more personal contact with Arab Muslims, and (v) increases knowledge of Arab Muslims and Islam.

DOI

10.1257/aer.20220376

Volume

114

Issue

2

Pages

348-384

Language

en

Sources

openalex bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref

Cite

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