Immigration and Perceived Ethnic Threat: Cultural Capital and Economic Explanations

Abstract: This article aims to study to what extent the share of immigrants in a country influences individuals ’ perceptions of ethnic threat and how this can be explained by theories of economic and cultural threat. Following an economic logic, people with a weak socio-economic position should have a greater perception of ethnic threat. This would be more so if the share of low-educated immigrants in a country was relatively high. Following a cultural logic, greater perceptions of ethnic threat should be found among individuals with a weak cultural position, which would apply more strongly if the share of non-Western immigrants in a country was relatively high. Both theories are studied using data from the first round of the European Social Survey, enriched with country-specific variables. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the theories under scrutiny and in the light of current scientific debates about the influence of immigration on Western societies.