In Transit: The Well-Being of Migrants from Transition and Post-Transition Countries

Abstract

In Transit: The Well-Being of Migrants from Transition and Post-Transition CountriesThe extant literature has focused on migration's consequences for the receiving countries. In this paper, we ask a different but important question: how much do migrants gain from moving to another country? Using Gallup World Poll data and a methodology combining statistical matching with difference-in-differences, we assess migration's effects on the wellbeing of migrants from transition economies. We contribute to the literature by showing that in addition to increasing household income, migration enhances subjective well-being and satisfaction with freedom. The results are robust to sensitivity checks. Understanding the causal effects of migration on perceived and actual well-being is crucial for an informed public policy debate and has direct implications for social cohesion and integration policy.

A Longitudinal Study of Factors Affecting Migrant Subjective Well-Being: Empirical Evidence From Latvian Emigrant Surveys

“…Although migration mostly improves an individual's economic situation, it can also be associated with psychological discomfort (separation from family, friends, problems due to perceived discrimination or other reasons) (Nikolova & Graham, 2014;Borjas, 1987;Chiswick, 1999;Sjaastad, 1962). Several researchers point to the vulnerable balance between the economic benefits of migration and the 'sacrifices' -the emotional 'price', most often identified with the loss of contact with children and family members, the loss of social support networks, which affects the individual's satisfaction and level of SWB (Skrbiš, 2008;Sime, 2018).…”

“…In turn, higher incomes may raise expectations with regard to wages and economic status (Stutzer, 2003). Moreover, categories of reference change: as migrants' incomes rise, so do their hopes and expectations of life, as they compare themselves to the higher-earning and more affluent locals in host countries (Nikolova & Graham, 2014).…”

International Migration and the (Un)happiness Push: Evidence from Polish Longitudinal Data

“…This article contributes to recent research on the role of happiness as a driver of international migration (e.g., Ivlevs 2015; Nikolova and Graham 2015), as well as on the nexus between migration intentions and actual behaviors (e.g., Gardner et al 1985; Van Dalen and Henkens 2008). In particular, we address the following research questions: Are immigrants more or less happy than those who stay put?…”

“…The panel dimension of our analysis allows us to investigate the role of individual and household levels of happiness on both the ex-ante migration intention and the ex-post actual migration decision up to two years after the interview. Therefore, only datasets — like ours — that trace changes in happiness and location over time allow researchers to causally assess the relationship between happiness and migration (Nikolova and Graham 2015).…”

Happy Moves? Assessing the Link between Life Satisfaction and Emigration Intentions

“…3 The strand on subjective well-being and the decision to migrate is part of a broader literature on happiness and migration (see Simpson (2013) and International Organisation for Migration (2013) for an overview). Other directions in this literature have looked at whether migration experience makes people happier (Bartram, 2011;Bartram, 2013;Erlandhagen, 2011;Nikolova and Graham, 2015;Stillman et al, 2015) and whether migration affects the well-being of receiving and sending-country populations (Akay et al, 2014;Betz and Simpson, 2013;Borraz et al, 2008). 2007), physical health (Diener and Chan, 2011), sociability, quality of social relationships, social capital, and social behaviour (De Neve et al, 2013;Guven, 2011), as well as a greater probability of getting hired and promoted and receiving higher levels of education and income (De Neve and Oswald, 2012).…”