Abstract

The recent flows of immigrants and asylum seekers into Europe have presented European leaders and policymakers with one of the biggest challenges in recent years. Immigration has become a pivotal politicized issue, leading to polarization and political conflict across and within European countries. In order to quantify the allocation of migrants across destinations, and to facilitate multilateral cooperation to resettle people, knowledge of their scale, composition and geographical distribution is crucial. This project aims at gaining a deeper understanding of the recent arrivals and the so-called ‘European refugee crisis’. making use of novel perspectives and original datasets. The project will, in particular, examine the impact of refugee arrivals and dispersal policies on main socio-economic outcomes at the local level, as well as the role played by individuals’ proximity to refugee hosting centers on subjective perceptions and attitudes towards immigrants. The project will collect and analyse novel data source on refugee resettlement schemes, with a specific focus on Italy and the Netherlands.