The effect of migration and time spent abroad on migrants’ health: A home/host country perspective

Elisa Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Eralba Cela and Eleonora Trappolini
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Elisa Barbiano di Belgiojoso: Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca (UNIMIB)
Eralba Cela: Università degli Studi di Milano (UNIMI)

Demographic Research, 2024, vol. 50, issue 37, 1113-1150

Abstract: Background: It is widely recognized that migrants are generally healthy upon arrival, but for several reasons, a longer length of stay abroad can have detrimental effects on health. Empirical evidence suggests the use of different comparison groups (natives in the destination country; co-nationals in the origin country) to analyse migrants’ health, depending on research aims and data availability. Objective: Using data from two nationally representative surveys, the Italian survey Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens (2011–2012) and the Albanian Living Standard Measurement Survey (2012), this study aims to (1) analyse health differences between migrants abroad and non-migrants in their origin countries, focusing on the Albania–Italy migration corridor; and (2) assess health differences among Albanian migrants living in Italy according to their length of stay. Methods: We apply propensity score matching analysis to compare health outcomes between the two groups and use logistic regression models to investigate the effect of the length of stay in Italy on migrants’ health. Results: Our findings show that migrants exhibit poorer health compared to their co-nationals in the origin country and, in line with previous studies, that longer residence in Italy is associated with health deterioration. Contribution: This study is the first in Italy to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between migration and health. It does so by adopting a comparative home/host country perspective.

Keywords: health; migrants; Italy; Albania; propensity score (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:50:y:2024:i:37

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2024.50.37

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