9/11 - Attitudes toward Immigration and the Moderating Role of Education
Abstract:
The major event of the 9/11 terror attacks has likely induced an increase in anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner sentiment, not only among US residents but also beyond US borders. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), and exploiting the fact that survey interviews have been randomly conducted throughout the year 2001 - before and after September 11 - I am able to identify the immediate negative impact of the terrorist attack in the US on attitudes toward immigration as well as on concerns over xenophobic hostility in Germany. Further, this quasi-experiment provides evidence on the role of education in moderating the negative terrorism shock.