Welcome in my back yard? Explaining cross-municipal opposition to refugees through outgroup size, outgroup proximity, and economic conditions

Abstract

Abstract This study explores contextual sources of attitudes towards refugees by investigating the impact of outgroup size, outgroup proximity (or the presence of an asylum seekers centre), economic conditions, and their interaction on individuals’ attitudes. We analyse data from a cross-sectional survey of the Belgian adult population in October 2017, enriched with municipality-level indicators of intergroup context and economic conditions. Drawing on multilevel regression analyses, our findings show that proximity to an asylum seekers centre and a higher average taxable income of residents are associated with positive individual attitudes towards refugees, while (changes in) outgroup size are not linked with attitudes among this sample. Additionally, our findings indicate that the positive impact of educational attainment on attitudes is amplified (weakened) in municipalities with a larger (smaller) refugee and asylum seeker group size. In summary, these results highlight the relevance of including outgroup proximity at the local level and interactive relations in contextual studies of outgroup attitudes.