Daniel Scates
PhD Candidate in Political Science · University of California, Davis
About Me
I study how mobility, social networks, and intergroup contact shape attitudes toward immigrants and refugees using spatial causal inference and survey experiments. My work primarily focuses on public attitudes towards immigration and support for far-right parties. I am particularly interested in the diffusion of information across space, and how mobility and social networks shape public attitudes towards immigration. I use a mixture of econometrics and political psychology approaches in my research.
I have teaching experience in comparative politics and international relations, both at the lower division and upper division level. I have additional background in Central and Eastern European politics and conflict studies.
As hobbies, I have played clarinet for over 15 years, and practice historical fencing. I love collecting and sharing teas and coffees.
Job market paper
Commuting and Contact: The Spatial Effect of Ukrainian Refugees on Voting in Estonia
Abstract. Prior work shows that refugees can affect voting behavior in the receiving country. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered one of the largest forced displacements in recent memory, little is known about how this influx shaped voting. I examine its effect on voting in Estonia’s 2023 parliamentary election, a case where shared historical experience may produce a decline in support for nativist parties. Utilizing a spatial difference-in-differences approach using commuting networks to model inter-municipality connections, I find that vote shares for the one nativist party declined in municipalities more exposed to Ukrainian refugees via commuting networks, while vote shares for the governing, pro-refugee party increased. These findings highlight that case-specific factors impact the response to refugees, and that attitudes towards refugees are not purely locally driven.
Fields: Immigration attitudes · Comparative Politics · International Relations