It is perhaps intuitive to assume that as inequality rises, those who are losing out demand more restrictive immigration policies as they mistakingly believe that their problems are caused by outsiders. Research from the University of Colorado Boulder suggests that there is an element of truth to this, but it’s not the entire picture.

The study suggests that rising inequality does indeed result in harsher immigration policies, but only in lower-income countries. In higher-income countries, the reverse is actually the case.

Unequal societies

The paper describes inequality in both industrial and economic terms. For instance, when a product is made, its value increases at each stage of production. Some of this value added goes to factory owners, and some go to labor, with the gap between the two contributing to changes in inequality.

After data from 24 democratic countries was analyzed, the researchers discovered that rising inequality can be associated with both stricter and more lenient immigration policies. The deciding factor that determined which route was taken was the level of economic development in the respective country.

For instance, in low-income economies, any rises in inequality were linked to more restrictive immigration policies, but the reverse was the case in high-income economies. This is largely due to competition, as in low-income economies, there is competition for jobs between migrants and natives, which can result in anti-immigration sentiments that underpin restrictive immigration laws.

In higher-income economies, however, there is less competition between native and migrant workers, so anti-immigration attitudes are less pronounced. What’s more, there is also a push from labor-intensive firms for more relaxed immigration rules so that they have access to the talent they need. The researchers believe that their findings can help policymakers understand what factors underpin immigration policies in a country.

“Immigration policy variation is a puzzle,” they conclude. “Sometimes it looks like policymakers are introducing restrictions out of nowhere, but a lot of these explanatory variables are already in the current of politics.”