Exploring Public Attitudes Towards Immigrants in Georgia: Trends and Policy Implications

Abstract

Public attitudes towards immigrants are becoming an increasingly important issue in many countries and are not always positive. In Georgia, CRRC's Caucasus Barometer survey data show that public attitudes towards immigrants remain quite ambivalent. The changes in reported attitudes between 2015 and 2017 are not necessarily positive. Negative attitudes towards immigrants are more widespread among those who have not had personal contact with immigrants, thus supporting the 'contact hypothesis.' The empirical evidence also supports the economic self-interest theory, with higher shares of people living in better-off households reporting positive attitudes towards immigrants in Georgia.