Abstract
Do material interests shape a person's views on immigration? If so, how? In a widely cited study, Gordon Hanson, Kenneth Scheve, and Matthew J. Slaughter contend that the public finance environment of each U.S. state affects the way an individual's skill level influences her or his support for immigration. Jens Hainmueller and Michael J. Hiscox disagree with the public finance argument and have maintained that nonmaterial factors better explain immigration preferences. This article revisits the debate about material interests with a range of new data and finds little support for the public finance hypothesis. The study also offers some explanations for these less-supportive results, provides directions for future work, and reflects on how empirical research on nonmaterialist explanations can be enhanced methodologically and conceptually.
Published Version
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