Attitudes Toward Immigrants In

It has long been a part of the conventional wisdom among both social scientists and laypersons that periods of unemployment are charac? terized by higher levels of prejudice and discrimination directed at immigrant groups, particularly those of a minority ethnic or racial background. Yet surprisingly little research has addressed this issue. This article presents a study of the effects of a number of socioeconomic features of Canadian cities, particularly their un? employment rates, on the attitudes toward immigrants of their native-born residents. Using data from a national study of ethnicity and multiculturalism, we estimate several regression models predict? ing three separate dimensions of attitude toward immigrants and including as independent variables both individual characteristics and structural characteristics of city of residence. We find no evidence of a sizeable effect of local unemployment rate on attitude toward immigrants. Of the other contextual variables included in our models, the only one consistently influencing these attitudes is rate of population growth. Of the individual level variables included in the models, educational attainment and income, along with mother tongue, exhibit the strongest and most consistent effects on the attitude dimensions. A considerable body of literature has emerged over the past two decades which has suggested that economic conditions are directly related to ethnic and racial prejudice. This article studies the effects of a number of sociodemographic characteristics of Canadian cities on individual attitudes toward immigrants. Our theoretical basis is that the impact of various structural attributes of cities may produce unique social and institutional networks. These social enclosures (Breton, 1988) determine the social relations among the members of a society; specifically the way minority