Publication: The Electoral Consequences of Easing the Integration of Forced Migrants: Evidence from a Southern Country
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Date
2023-03
ISSN
Published
2023-03
Abstract
How does easing the economic integration of forced migrants affect native voting behaviors in the Global South? This paper assesses how the regularization of half a million Venezuelan forced migrants affected the electoral choices of Colombian natives by comparing election results in municipalities with higher and lower take-up rates for a program that supports forced migrants. The findings show negligible impacts on native voting behavior. The study then conducted a survey experiment to investigate the lack of voter response. Even after receiving information about the pro-gram, Colombian voters showed no changes in voting intentions or prosocial views toward migrants. This suggests that their indifference did not stem from a lack of awareness about the program. In contrast, the electoral indifference of natives may be explained by the fact that the program did not change labor and crime outcomes for native Colombians, and most migrants remained in the informal sector despite benefiting from the program through improvements in labor conditions and better access to public services.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Rozo, Sandra V.; Quintana, Alejandra; Urbina, María José. 2023. The Electoral Consequences of Easing the Integration of Forced Migrants: Evidence from a Southern Country. Policy Research Working Papers; 10342. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39516 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”