What explains public opinion on refugee policy? To what extent is public opinion sensitive to changes in immigration inflows? Does the changing national political context matter for attitudes toward refugee immigration? Due to the lack of survey data that are comparable across time and between countries, the literature on immigration attitudes are commonly either cross national or single country time series analyses. This study, however, uses annual data on attitudes towards refugee policy from Sweden, Denmark and Norwy from the late 1980s until 2009. While the responsive government literature studies the effect of public opinion on policy, does the opposite: Do policy changes influence public opinion? Immigration policies in the three Scandinavian countries are diverging: Denmark is one of the most restrictive in Europe, while Sweden stands out as the most liberal. This study will provide insigths into whether the differences exist primarily in political decisions, or whether there are cross national differences also in the shaping of public opinion on the immigration issue.
