What explains opposition to immigration: Economic anxiety, cultural threat, or both

With a surge in immigration over the last three decades, there is now a large literature examining the underpinnings of attitudes towards immigration. Existing research emphasizes the importance of two different sets of explanatory factors: economic anxiety and cultural threat. While there is solid empirical evidence supporting the effect of cultural threat perceptions on opposition to immigration, evidence on the impact of economic considerations is mixed. In discerning the relative importance of economic versus cultural considerations, existing research has, however, created a false dichotomy. Economic anxiety and cultural threat are not necessarily separable influences but interlinked and mutually dependent. Cultural threat perception may, for instance, influence whether an individual attributes responsibility for economic hardship to immigration rather than to other factors. Vice versa, the experience of economic hardship may influence and activate and cultural threat perceptions. More empirical work is needed to examine potential interactive effects between the two influences.