Economic Perception as a Predictor of Immigration Sentiments in the EU
Building upon prior research into the causes of support and opposition to immigration into European Union states, this project examines the impact a respondent’s perception of the current economic climate has on his or her level of support for immigration. There are several existing studies focused on the issue of immigration, both in regards to the European Union and globally, that posit economic factors as the potential driving force behind a person’s views on the issue. This project, however, posits that levels of support and opposition for immigration result not from concrete economic factors, but rather from personal perceptions regarding the state of the economy and one’s own financial security. If such a relationship is true, a positive correlation should exist between respondents with a pessimistic view on the economy and their level of opposition to immigration into the European Union by foreign nationals.