TITLE:
Voter Beliefs, Electoral Concerns and Undocumented Migration
AUTHORS:
Ruxanda Berlinschi, Mara Pasquamaria Squicciarini
KEYWORDS:
Immigration; Biased Beliefs; Electoral Concerns
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Political Science,
Vol.3 No.4,
October
25,
2013
ABSTRACT: If voters underestimate the benefits that immigrants bring to their country, policy makers need to campaign for suboptimal migration levels in order to win elections. Once in power, they face a trade-off between keeping electoral promises by restricting immigration and stimulating the economy by favoring immigration. One solution to this trade-off may be maintaining high barriers to legal migration, while keeping a blind eye on undocumented migration.