Perceived Social Acceptance and Migrants' Financial Inclusion
Abstract
We study how migrants’ perceptions of social acceptance in their host country shape their engagement with the financial system. Conducting a survey experiment with 2,115 Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, we find that 66% of participants underestimate the extent to which Colombians are open towards migrants. Providing accurate information about native attitudes corrects these misperceptions and increases migrants’ willingness to engage with the financial system. Among individuals who initially underestimated Colombians’ acceptance, the intervention increases willingness to visit a bank by 15%, open a digital wallet by 12%, and open a savings account by 18% relative to the control group mean. Effects are concentrated among individuals who have not directly experienced discrimination. Using an instrumental variable strategy, we show these effects are driven by belief updating, and find that corrections persist six months later. Our findings highlight that misperceptions about social acceptance can be an important driver of self-exclusion from the financial system among migrant populations.