Neighborhood quality and opposition to immigration: Evidence from German refugee shelters Articles uri icon

authors

  • HENNIG, JAKOB JOHANNES

publication date

  • May 2021

start page

  • 1

end page

  • 20

issue

  • 102604

volume

  • 150

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0304-3878

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1872-6089

abstract

  • Does refugee immigration affect the quality of neighborhood amenities, and are these changes driving the opposition to immigration? In this paper, I use real estate listings and online reviews of local amenities to demonstrate neighborhood change due to the establishment of a refugee shelter. The setting is Berlin during the refugee immigration episode of 2015. I show that shelter locations did not differ from control locations in terms of neighborhood quality or political outcomes before 2015. After a shelter is established, rental prices decline 3-4% within 100m of the shelter, relative to untreated locations. Ratings for existing amenities also decline in the immediate vicinity. However, anti-immigrant right-wing parties do not receive a higher share of the vote in these areas, which demonstrates that neighborhood decline due to immigration does not drive the large aggregate surge in their support.

subjects

  • Economics

keywords

  • refugee migration; real estate; elections