Past studies have shown that disease threat increases people's hostility towards immigrants. However, in our survey (N = 9571) conducted in five advanced Asian economies during the outbreak of COVID-19, we found that COVID-19 vulnerability was positively associated with support for immigration. Drawing on insight from policy feedback theories, we propose that the positive association is caused by the presence of widespread border crossing restrictions, which have changed the meaning and cost implications of COVID-19. As the outbreak expands, the pandemic has become not just a threat to people's health but also a barrier to globalization. Consequently, people who are worried about the disease may see globalization processes, including migration, as signs of pandemic relief. We find supportive evidence in our analysis. First, the positive association between COVID-19 vulnerability and support for immigration is more salient among respondents who considered restrictions on international travel to be stringent. Second, the positive association between COVID-19 vulnerability and immigration attitude was mediated by perceived economic threat from the pandemic and contribution by immigrants towards the containment of the pandemic. These findings suggest that disease control measures adopted at the global level may alter certain widely accepted effects of disease threat on immigration attitudes.

中文翻译：

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大流行的脆弱性、政策反馈和对移民的支持：来自亚洲的证据

过去的研究表明，疾病威胁增加了人们对移民的敌意。然而，在我们的调查中（N = 9571）在 COVID-19 爆发期间在五个亚洲发达经济体进行的研究中，我们发现 COVID-19 的脆弱性与对移民的支持呈正相关。根据政策反馈理论的见解，我们提出这种正相关是由广泛存在的过境限制引起的，这改变了 COVID-19 的含义和成本影响。随着疫情的扩大，疫情不仅成为人们健康的威胁，也成为全球化的障碍。因此，担心这种疾病的人可能会将包括移民在内的全球化进程视为大流行缓解的迹象。我们在分析中找到了支持性证据。第一的，在认为对国际旅行限制严格的受访者中，COVID-19 的脆弱性与对移民的支持之间的正相关关系更为显着。其次，COVID-19 脆弱性与移民态度之间的正相关关系是由大流行带来的经济威胁和移民对遏制大流行的贡献所调节的。这些发现表明，在全球范围内采取的疾病控制措施可能会改变疾病威胁对移民态度的某些广泛接受的影响。