Borders of Compassion: Immigration Preferences and Parochial Altruism

Anti-immigration preferences among educated and racially egalitarian voters is hard to explain using existing frameworks of self-interest or prejudice. I address this puzzle by developing a theory of parochial altruism, which stipulates that voters are motivated to help others at a cost, but they pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative political studies 2021-03, Vol.54 (3-4), p.445-481
Main Author: Kustov, Alexander
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altruism
Borders
Charities
Compassion
Egalitarianism
Immigration
Immigration policy
Nationalism
Prejudice
Public opinion
Self interest
Sympathy
Voters
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Summary:Anti-immigration preferences among educated and racially egalitarian voters is hard to explain using existing frameworks of self-interest or prejudice. I address this puzzle by developing a theory of parochial altruism, which stipulates that voters are motivated to help others at a cost, but they prioritize helping compatriots. I hypothesize that parochial altruists or voters high in both “nationalism” and “altruism” are more supportive of immigration restrictions perceived to be in the national interest. However, parochial altruists are also expected to be more supportive of increasing immigration when it benefits their compatriots. I test my theory by conducting a population-based UK survey. Using a novel measure of elicited preferences, I first find most altruists who donate to domestic rather than global charities are as anti-immigration as egoists who do not donate at all. Using a conjoint experiment, I then show voters support increasing immigration when these alternative policies benefit their compatriots.
ISSN:0010-4140
1552-3829
DOI:10.1177/0010414020938087