Are We in the Same Boat? The Legacy of Historical Emigration on Attitudes Towards Immigration

ABSTRACT I analyze the effect of historical emigration on current attitudes towards immigrants and migration policies in central and southern Italy. To do so, I collect data on Italian emigrants by the municipality of last residence from the Ellis Island archives in the period 1892–1924. I estimate, then, the causal effect of emigration on a series of outcomes used to measure attitudes towards immigration through an IV strategy, by exploiting exogenous variation in proximity to departure port to the U.S. during the years 1892‐1924. I find that emigration has a negative and significant long‐run effect on attitudes towards immigration. In particular, higher historical emigration reduces the propensity to open refugees reception centers, social expenditure, volunteers in non‐profit organizations and significantly decreases political support for more inclusive parties.