Migrations in Italy and Perceptions of Ethnic Threat

This work investigates anti-immigrant sentiment in Italy and to what extent any “perceived ethnic threat” is influenced by the actual presence of immigrants. Whereas previous studies in the Italian context provide evidence for various social and psychological explanations of anti-immigrant sentiment, this work underlines the role of economic factors focusing on competition theory as main theoretical explanation. The analysis examines microdata obtained from the European Social Survey and from the Labour Force Survey conducted in 2016. In line with the economic perspective, the results suggest that the percentage of unemployed immigrants—rather than just the number of immigrants—significantly increases natives’ perceptions of an “ethnic threat.”