Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

10-2023

Abstract

We conduct a randomized online survey experiment to study the impact of fact-checking offers and financial incentives on misperceptions about immigrants. We find that natives overestimate the number of immigrants and the social and economic costs of immigration. Offering a free check of the factual information about immigrants reduces these misperceptions; it becomes more effective when combined with financial incentives. However, more than half of the participants never took up offers to check factual information. Using a model of information search with limited attention, we identify the presence of non-negligible costs of information search and processing, which limits the effectiveness of the fact-checking interventions. Finally, we find that the fact-checking interventions moderately improve natives' attitudes toward immigrants but affect neither their policy preferences nor giving behavior toward immigrants.

Keywords

Misperceptions, Immigrants, Incentives, Information, Policy preferences, Online experiment

Discipline

Behavioral Economics | Labor Economics

Research Areas

Applied Microeconomics

Publication

Labour Economics

Volume

84

First Page

1

Last Page

12

ISSN

0927-5371

Identifier

10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102428

Publisher

Elsevier

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102428

Share

COinS