688 International Organization TABLE 1.Average legal resident alien intakes in fourteen OECD countries, 1962-91(annual flow of legal alien residents per ten thousand) Country Mean Standard deviation Number ofyears Japan 3 23 France 23 14 29 United States Finland 91 United Kingdom 38 Netherlands 670 器 Norway 47 Sweden 29 3 Belgium 1 28 Canada 62 21 Denmark 6 Australia 81 29 Germany (West) 122 93082 New Zealand 136 2 Total 58 41 6 Source:Money 1996. closest to the unweighted annual average of the data set,with 58 per ten thousand per year. Some surprising facts emerge from these data.For example,the United States is widely perceived as a country of immigrants with a tradition of openness to immigra- tion.Yet,although the United States admitted large absolute numbers of immigrants, on a per capita basis it is located toward the low end of the scale,with 24 aliens per year per ten thousand on average for the period under review.Another anomaly is Germany.Even though it proclaims that it is not a country of immigration,(West) Germany admitted relatively large flows of aliens on a per capita basis,even when excluding the ethnic Germans who migrated from eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union,as these figures do. Explanation of Trends Many explanations have been advanced to account for variation in immigration con- trol policies among advanced industrial countries.Most point to aspects of national identity,to economic factors,or to the interaction between economic and cultural dimensions of immigration. One group of analysts focuses on conceptions of ethnicity,citizenship,and/or national identity to predict immigration policy.?Doris Meissner,for example,juxta- poses European nations in which citizenshipis tied to"shared ethnicity and national- 7.See,for example,Foot 1965 on Britain;Higham 1963 on the United States;and Meissner 1992 for a comparative analysis.closest to the unweighted annual average of the data set, with 58 per ten thousand per year. Some surprising facts emerge from these data. For example, the United States is widely perceived as a country of immigrants with a tradition of opennessto immigra￾tion. Yet, although the United States admitted large absolute numbers of immigrants, on a per capita basis it is located toward the low end of the scale, with 24 aliens per year per ten thousand on average for the period under review. Another anomaly is Germany. Even though it proclaims that it is not a country of immigration, (West) Germany admitted relatively large  ows of aliens on a per capita basis, even when excluding the ethnic Germans who migrated from eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, as these Ž gures do. Explanation of Trends Many explanationshave been advanced to account for variation in immigration con￾trol policies among advanced industrial countries. Most point to aspects of national identity, to economic factors, or to the interaction between economic and cultural dimensions of immigration. One group of analysts focuses on conceptions of ethnicity, citizenship, and/or national identity to predict immigration policy.7 Doris Meissner, for example, juxta￾poses European nationsin which citizenship istied to ‘‘shared ethnicity and national- 7. See, for example, Foot 1965 on Britain; Higham 1963 on the United States; and Meissner 1992 for a comparative analysis. TABLE 1. Average legal resident alien intakesin fourteen OECD countries, 1962–91(annual  ow of legal alien residents per ten thousand) Country Mean Standard deviation Number of years Japan 3 1 23 France 23 14 29 United States 24 13 29 Finland 26 6 11 United Kingdom 38 7 28 Netherlands 40 10 14 Norway 47 9 29 Sweden 51 15 30 Belgium 53 13 28 Canada 62 21 28 Denmark 66 9 30 Australia 81 30 29 Germany (West) 122 48 29 New Zealand 136 26 28 Total 58 41 365 Source: Money 1996. 688 International Organization