The topic of migration has been a hotly debated issue in many countries, including the Netherlands. One of the questions tailored around this topic is what makes some people living in an increasingly multicultural neighbourhood xenophobic and others not?

While there is no single answer to this question, one explanation can be derived from which source people derive their self-worth. According to Paul Collier Professor of Economics at Oxford, people derive their self-worth from mainly three sources: work and education, traditions and community, and the nation. In our increasingly more secular and meritocratic Western societies, people more and more derive their image of self-worth from their level of education and work. However, if someone is low-educated and has a less desirable job, they are more likely to attach greater value to their traditions, community or the nation.

Going back to the multicultural transformation of a neighbourhood. People who are low-educated or have less desirable jobs are more likely to perceive an expanding sociocultural environment as a threat to the self-worth they derive from their national identity. On the other hand, people who derive their image of self-worth more from their level of education and work, such as university students, feel less threatened by a changing sociocultural environment as they don’t attach so much personal value to it.

Although the debate among migrants is complex and multifaceted, understanding the different sources of self-worth can help us better understand why some people may feel more threatened than others.