Immigration and biased beliefs

See here (in German): https://www.diepresse.com/6098574/verzerrte-wahrnehmung-und-notwendige-zuwanderungExternal link

The challenges are mutually reinforcing. Investments in future technologies cost money. The Corona pandemic has put a heavy burden on public coffers; the financial leeway for many companies has also become smaller. However, the digital and ecological transformation of the economy does not only require sufficient financial resources. Equally important for its success are the workers, especially the skilled workers, who have to drive the transformation. Due to demographics, however, there are already bottlenecks in more and more occupational groups. 

For this reason, the new federal government sees more labour immigration as another crucial pillar. However, two points must not be overlooked. First, there is the question of how attractive Germany is for immigrants. Second, how open is the population in Germany to immigrants? This is crucial for the integration of immigrants in the labour market and in the social environment and also a prerequisite for broad support for further political measures.

We have examined attitudes towards immigrants in Germany in several studies (see for example: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344786010_The_Role_of_Information_Provision_for_Attitudes_Towards_Immigration_An_Experimental_InvestigationExternal link ). The focus is on the question of whether negative attitudes stem from incomplete information and thus whether better information leads to a more positive and open view. For this purpose, we conducted representative surveys in Germany in 2020 and 2021. It turns out that the majority overestimates the share of foreigners and underestimates their labour market participation. In addition, respondents largely underestimate the share of immigrants from Europe. The question is whether information leads to a change in attitudes. Indeed, similar to studies for the US, it appears that the group of respondents who receive information on immigration during the survey changes their views compared to the group that does not receive this information. Competition in the labour market and the burden on the welfare state are perceived as less severe. In addition, people who receive information are more supportive of increasing immigration overall. Interestingly, contrary to what one might have expected, the Corona pandemic and increased economic uncertainty do not seem to result in greater reservations.

More immigration will not in itself eliminate all challenges, but it can contribute to mastering the economic and demographic transformation. The prerequisite, however, is that immigrants do not encounter reservations due to incomplete information and distorted perceptions, but rather an open society.