Dr. Eloisa Harris
Dr. Eloisa Harris

BIGSSS-departs Ph.D. Fellow, Cohort 2017

Dissertation topic
The Partisan Politics of the Immigration-Welfare Tension: Voter Demand, Electoral Strategies and Partisan Effects Revisited

Dissertation abstract
The policy field at the intersection of immigration and welfare has long been considered the domain of parties and movements from the "radical right". Yet, given increased focus on the alleged economic burden of immigrants in public discourse of late, this project proposes to refocus empirical and conceptual energy towards mainstream party politics around these issues. Comprised of three papers, theories of institutional feedback and party competition are used to explain variation in a) politicization of these issues at elections, b) partisan effects on policies that increase and decrease immigrant welfare rights and c) the association between immigration attitudes and vote choice. A mixed methods approach is taken, encompassing both qualitative content analysis of party discourses, and regression analysis of both survey and policy reform data.

Current Job
Max Planck Institute
Study of Ethnic and Religious Diversity
Postdoctoral Research Fellow