The Economic Journal
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Original Article
The Long-run Effect of 9/11: Terrorism, Backlash, and the Assimilation of Muslim Immigrants in the West
- We thank the editor, Kjell Salvanes, two anonymous referees, Moshe Hazan, Daniele Paserman, Jacob Shapiro and participants at numerous seminars and conferences for helpful comments and suggestions. We thank The Maurice Falk Institute for Economic Research and the Israeli Science Foundation (grant No. 408/12) for financial support.
Abstract
This article investigates whether the 9/11 attacks affected the assimilation rate of Muslims in the US. Terror attacks by Islamic groups are likely to induce a backlash against Muslims, thereby raising their costs of assimilation. We find that Muslim immigrants living in states with the sharpest increase in hate crimes also exhibit: greater chances of marrying within their own ethnic group; higher fertility; lower female labour force participation; and lower English proficiency. These findings shed light on the increasing use of terror and concurrent rise in social tensions surrounding Muslim immigrants in the West.