Vad hände politiskt i Danmark när flyktingar började anlända under perioden 1993–2013? Det studeras i ”The Political Consequences of Immigration: Evidence from Refugee Shocks in Denmark”. Ett mycket intressant mönster framträder, och det rör vilka som blir politiska kandidater:

[R]efugee migration causes more candidates with a low socioeconomic status (SES) to enter and be elected into politics. This effect is driven both by parties and voters: First, established parties place low-SES candidates higher on lists and switch to a party system, where individual candidate popularity, rather than party list position, determines election. Second, voters cast individual votes for these low-SES candidates.

Hur ska detta mönster förstås? Jo:

I find that voters’ preference for low-SES candidates can in part be explained by their increased preferences for redistribution toward economically vulnerable natives, which mirrors the preferences of low-SES candidates.

En möjlig slutsats är att partier kanske kan konkurrera med partier som Sverigedemokraterna om de öppnar för att bredda den typ av kandidater som ställer upp i val.