The rational choice/political culture debate and immigration policy

In the terms of rational choice, a nation’s people will examine the benefits of immigration.  If the immigrants coming in are highly skilled and trained, then they may benefit the economy by performing well at certain jobs.  However, the immigrants could also take away the jobs of the current residents, a thought that may make a person turn away from immigration.  Immigration policies differ between nations because each nation has it’s own culture.  In some countries, the culture of the nation is more accepting of immigration, while others are less accepting.  If a country has a culture that dislikes immigration, then the politics of that nation will be anti-immigration.  On the other hand, if a country has a culture that approves of immigration, then the politics of that nation will be pro-immigration.

2 Comments

    • jd
    • Posted February 14, 2008 at 2:23 am
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    You can use our computer session tomorrow to find out whether rational choice or culture is a better explanation of attitudes toward immigration.

    • sc2ih
    • Posted April 27, 2008 at 5:27 pm
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    I think rational choice is a better explanation for immigration policy. The culture of a particular nation does play a part in influencing how a group of people will receive incoming citizens, however it is not the determining factor for policies nation-wide. Policies are more likely to be influenced by rational choice. Questions arise in the bureaucracy such as: will this group of individuals contribute in a positive way to our economy and to our nation? will there be a backlash from our citizens because there is tension between our people and the immigrant population? Will allowing immigrants into our nation provide the greatest benefit, with the smallest cost for our nation?
    It is more logical that a nation would base its policy decisions on rational, self-interested factors rather than on cultural factors.


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