Interactions in a High Immigration Context

Abstract

In recent decades, sudden massive migration influxes have become a new driving force of migration increases. These types of migration flows present potential challenges to social and economic integration. In this paper, we study the socioeconomic integration using controlled laboratory experiments in the context of the massive inflow of Venezuelan migrants in Peru, where the share of Venezuelan immigrants increased from almost zero in 2016 to 2.5 percent of the country’s population in 2019. Using adult (non-student) native-born Peruvians and Venezuelan immigrants as subjects, we conducted homogeneous (same nationality) and mixed (different nationality) experimental sessions in Lima, to examine interactions that require cooperation, coordination, trust, and reciprocity to achieve a Pareto superior outcome. We find no evidence of discrimination or difference in those measures of behavior between the in-group and the out-group (based on nationality). Within this context, we further find no differentials in normative or empirical expectations in the behavior of non-nationals relative to those of nationals, and only a small to moderate implicit bias. This lack of differential treatment may be interpreted as a short-run economic integration between immigrants and natives in a challenging context of massive influxes of migrants.