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Happiness and International Migration

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  • Linnea Polgreen
  • Nicole Simpson

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the extent to which the aggregate happiness of a country affects the flow of people across its borders. We merge data from the World Values Survey, which produces happiness indices for 84 countries between 1981 and 2004, with three different migration datasets. We find that happiness has a U-shaped relationship with emigration rates: emigration rates fall in happiness for relatively unhappy countries, but rise for relatively happy countries. The U-shaped relationship also holds for migrant flows into the U.S. When analyzing net migration rates, we find that the reverse relationship exists. Net migration is associated with an increase in happiness for relatively unhappy countries, but after a threshold level of happiness, net migration is associated with a decrease in happiness. Our findings are robust to various empirical specifications and datasets.
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Suggested Citation

  • Linnea Polgreen & Nicole Simpson, 2011. "Happiness and International Migration," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(5), pages 819-840, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:12:y:2011:i:5:p:819-840
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-010-9229-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicole B. Simpson, 2022. "Demographic and economic determinants of migration," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 373-373, July.
    2. Hung-Hao Chang & Pei-An Liao, 2015. "Are Immigrant Wives Happy in Taiwan? A Look at the Role of Bargaining Power Within the Married Couples," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 295-312, April.
    3. Michael D. Smith & Dennis Wesselbaum, 2023. "Financial inclusion and international migration in low- and middle-income countries," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 341-370, July.
    4. Amany A. El Anshasy & Mrittika Shamsuddin & Marina-Selini Katsaiti, 2023. "Financial Wellbeing and International Migration Intentions: Evidence from Global Surveys," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(7), pages 2261-2289, October.
    5. Artjoms Ivlevs, 2015. "Happy Moves? Assessing the Link between Life Satisfaction and Emigration Intentions," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(3), pages 335-356, August.
    6. Aron Kincses & Géza Tóth, 2022. "Happiness and international migration – The spatial dimension of a relationship," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(6), pages 1810-1812, July.
    7. William Betz & Nicole Simpson, 2013. "The effects of international migration on the well-being of native populations in Europe," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-21, December.
    8. Gholipour, Hassan F. & Tajaddini, Reza & Nguyen, Jeremy, 2016. "Happiness and inbound tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 251-253.
    9. Elena Samarsky, 2020. "Who is Thinking of Leaving Germany? The Role of Postmaterialism, Risk Attitudes, and Life-Satisfaction on Emigration Intentions of German Nationals," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1066, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    10. Sacit Hadi Akdede & Eleftherios Giovanis, 2022. "The Impact of Migration Flows on Well-Being of Elderly Natives and Migrants: Evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 935-967, April.
    11. Paniagua, Jordi & Peiró-Palomino, Jesús & Santana-Gallego, María, 2022. "Does happiness drive tourism decisions?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    12. Artjoms Ivlevs, 2014. "Happy moves? Assessing the impact of subjective well-being on the emigration decision," Working Papers 20141402, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, Bristol.
    13. Dilshad SABRI ALI, 2019. "How Does Mass Immigration Transform The Destination Societies?," Prizren Social Science Journal, SHIKS, vol. 3(3), pages 77-83, December.
    14. Ruohong Cai & Neli Esipova & Michael Oppenheimer & Shuaizhang Feng, 2014. "International migration desires related to subjective well-being," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-20, December.
    15. Phil Lignier & Diane Jarvis & Daniel Grainger & Taha Chaiechi, 2024. "How Selective Mobility, Social and Ecological Influence may Impact Geographic Variations in Life Satisfaction Scores: An Australian Longitudinal Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 803-826, July.
    16. Mrittika Shamsuddin & Marina-Selini Katsaiti, 2020. "Migration and Happiness: Evidence from Germany," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(8), pages 2931-2955, December.
    17. Chenevier, Randall & Piper, Alan T. & Willis, Craig, 2021. "Migration, crime and life satisfaction in Chile: Pre and post-migration evidence," MPRA Paper 106502, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Artjoms Ivlevs, 2014. "Happiness and the emigration decision," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-96, October.
    19. repec:grz:wpsses:2021-07 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Renz, Timon, 2021. "Development policy based on happiness? A review of concepts, ideas and pitfalls," FZG Discussion Papers 75, University of Freiburg, Research Center for Generational Contracts (FZG).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International migration; Happiness; Human development; Income;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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