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Compensation or Retrenchment? The Paradox of Immigration and Public Welfare Spending in the American States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Ping Xu
Ping Xu*
Affiliation:
University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA
*
Ping Xu, Department of Political Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881-0817, USA. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

By using American state-level data from 1999 to 2008, this article explores how the recent immigrant influx has influenced public welfare spending in the American states. By integrating the race/ethnicity and globalization compensation theory, I hypothesize that immigration will increase welfare spending in states with a bleak job market and exclusive state immigrant welfare policy; in contrast, immigration will decrease welfare spending in states with a good job market and inclusive state immigrant welfare policy. Empirical tests show evidence for both hypotheses, suggesting that the applicability of general political science theories depends on a combination of state policy and economic contexts.

Keywords

immigrationpublic welfare spendingglobalization compensationrace and ethnicitystate immigrant welfare policystate labor market condition
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 76 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017

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