Who Is Afraid of Skilled Migrants From Europe? Exploring Support for Immigration Control in Switzerland

Abstract

The paper analyses the role of economic and cultural threat in exploring support for immigration control in Switzerland. A factorial survey experiment enables us to look into different migrant characteristics. Results show more support for immigration control for Eastern Europeans and low-skilled migrants. However, German migrants do not gain acceptance due to being highly skilled, and their willingness to adapt culturally is crucial for native Swiss with a high level of national pride.

Keywords

• immigration control
• switzerland
• cultural threat
• economic threat
• factorial survey experiment