Identity, immigration, and subjective well-being: why are natives so sharply divided on immigration issues?

Abstract

We put forward differences in the form of national identity across natives as a key mechanism explaining the sharp public divide on immigration issues. We show that inflows of migrants into local areas can be harmful for the self-reported well-being of natives, but this is only true for natives who self-identify with an ethnic form of national identity. On the other hand, we provide some evidence to suggest that immigration may be utility enhancing for natives with a civic form of national identity. We also show how differences in national identity significantly predict voting preferences in the UK referendum on European Union membership where concern with immigration issues were a salient factor. Drawing on identity economics, our proposed explanation is that for natives with an ethnic form of national identity, any positive economic benefits associated with immigration may not be enough to outweigh losses in identity-based utility.