Michael Freedman uses data from two consecutive waves of the European Social Survey (ESS), before and after the debt crisis (2008 and 2010). Anti-immigrant sentiment has risen during the debt crisis, and that the sharpest increases in anti-immigration attitudes were in countries with large national debts. Attitudes against immigrants were strongest among manufacturing workers, and these workers also experienced the largest decline in sentiment. Lastly, preliminary evidence that anti-immigrant sentiment is starting to fester among workers who had previously shown tolerance, including highly educated workers and in wealthier European countries, such as Germany. Overall, these results suggest that continued decline in the European fiscal situation could lead to an increase in backlash towards immigration, as public resources become strained.

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