Explaining anti-immigrant sentiment through spatial analysis: a study of the 2019 European elections in Italy

Does the settling of foreigners cause a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment due to resource competition? Or does the interaction allow for more respectful relations? And what if one also considers settlement in neighbouring municipalities? Applying an instrumental variable approach to variables collected at the municipality level and also including neighbouring areas, this paper aims to shed light on these questions by considering the vote for the Lega party across Italian municipalities in the 2019 European parliamentary election as a proxy for anti-immigration sentiment. Our results point out a negative effect of direct interactions with foreigners on the Lega vote, while the proximity of immigrants in neighbouring municipalities could have the opposite effect.