Discrimination, exclusion and immigrants’ confidence in public institutions in Europe

What determines the confidence of immigrants in public institutions? Using pooled data from the European Social Survey of 26 countries, the study examines whether processes of social exclusion and discrimination can account for migrants’ confidence in public institutions. Specifically, it examines the role of the quality of public institutions and of the migrant integration policies of the host country and how they interact with migrant status and proxies for experienced or potential discrimination in shaping institutional trust. Results show that the performance of public institutions matters less for the confidence of immigrants than that of natives, in particular for those who see themselves as an ethnic minority or members of a group that has faced discrimination. Second-generation migrants exhibit less trust than first-generation migrants. However, discriminatory processes appear to be of less importance than the expectations carried from the home country or acculturation processes.