Do Employers Support Immigration?*
Yuji TaiiiiirJ
October 1, 2007
Abstract
This paper exaiines whether or not being an eiployer was an
iiportant deteriinant of individual preferences for iiiigration re-
striction in the EU ieiber states in the eve of the 2004 enlargeient.
Our results do not confiri that eiployers were iore pro-iiiigration
than the rest by expecting a reduction in the cost of labor except in the
following sector: sanitation-related activities such as refuse disposal
and recreational, cultural and sports activities. On the contrary,
we find that eiployers were iore likely to be anti-iiiigration than
the rest in sectors where foreign workers were highly present, such as
household activities, construction, wholesale, hotels and restaurants.
Key words: individual attitudes toward iiiigration, eiployer, EU
JEL classifications: F22, J23
*I received useful suggestions from Nikolaus Wolf, Mike Harrison and Mike Devereux.
All reiaining errors are iine.
[email protected]; fax.+61 2 6125 0182; Economics Program, Research School
of Social Sciences, Australian National University; Institute for International Integration
Studies, Trinity College Dublin