Replication Data for: "Migration Mood and Policy Responsiveness: A Structural Analysis of Public Opinion, Policy, and Migration Flows in Italy (1990–2020)"

This study examines the relationships between immigration flows, public opinion, and migration policy in Italy from 1990 to 2020, fwith special focus on the 2015–2018 migration crisis. Using structural equation modelling and a new longitudinal dataset, it tests how migration levels, public mood, salience, and policy interact. Over time, the system shows a thermostatic pattern of mutual responsiveness between public opinion and policy. During the crisis, however, this balance breaks down: policy reacts mainly to salience and migration pressures, while mood moves in the same direction as policy. Under crisis conditions, politicisation disrupts the public thermostat.