Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2023
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

The Seeds of Ideology: Historical Immigration and Political Preferences in the United States

By: Paola Giuliano and Marco Tabellini
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:139
ShareBar

Abstract

We study the long run effects of immigration on American political ideology. Exploiting cross-county variation in the presence of European immigrants between 1900 and 1930, we establish a novel result: historical European immigration is associated with stronger preferences for redistribution and a more liberal ideology among Americans today. We show that this pattern is driven by immigrants with a longer exposure to social-welfare reforms in their countries of origin prior to emigration. Our evidence suggests that the vertical transmission of preferences within immigrant enclaves was complemented by horizontal socialization that promoted the spillover of ideology from immigrants to natives. This process was reinforced by immigrants' political incorporation in the Democratic voting bloc and by the election of legislators who were more likely to support pro-redistribution bills.

Keywords

Political Ideology; Preferences For Redistribution; Cultural Transmission; Immigration; History; Values and Beliefs; Welfare; United States

Citation

Giuliano, Paola, and Marco Tabellini. "The Seeds of Ideology: Historical Immigration and Political Preferences in the United States." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-118, May 2020. (Revised June 2023. Available also from VOX, UCLA Anderson Review, Weekendavisen, Cato Institute, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER), World Financial Review, and Newsweek.)
  • SSRN
  • Read Now

About The Author

Marco E. Tabellini

Business, Government and the International Economy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Homeward Bound: How Migrants Seek Out Familiar Climates

    By: Marguerite Obolensky, Marco Tabellini and Charles Taylor
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Black Empowerment and White Mobilization: The Effects of the Voting Rights Act

    By: Andrea Bernini, Giovanni Facchini, Marco Tabellini and Cecilia Testa
    • January 2023
    • Review of Economic Studies

    Racial Diversity and Racial Policy Preferences: The Great Migration and Civil Rights

    By: Alvaro Calderon, Vasiliki Fouka and Marco Tabellini
More from the Authors
  • Homeward Bound: How Migrants Seek Out Familiar Climates By: Marguerite Obolensky, Marco Tabellini and Charles Taylor
  • Black Empowerment and White Mobilization: The Effects of the Voting Rights Act By: Andrea Bernini, Giovanni Facchini, Marco Tabellini and Cecilia Testa
  • Racial Diversity and Racial Policy Preferences: The Great Migration and Civil Rights By: Alvaro Calderon, Vasiliki Fouka and Marco Tabellini
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College