Does Migration Make You Happy? A Longitudinal Study of Internal Migration and Subjective Well-Being

Beata Nowok (), Maarten van Ham, Allan M. Findlay () and Vernon Gayle ()
Additional contact information
Beata Nowok: University of St. Andrews
Allan M. Findlay: University of St. Andrews
Vernon Gayle: University of Stirling

No 6140, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The majority of modelling studies on consequences of internal migration focus almost exclusively on the labour market outcomes and the material well-being of migrants. We investigate whether individuals who migrate within the UK become happier after the move than they were before it and whether the effect is permanent or transient. Using life satisfaction responses from 12 waves of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and employing a fixed-effects model, we derive a temporal pattern of migrants' subjective well-being (SWB) around the time of the migration event. Our findings make an original contribution by revealing for the first time that, on average, migration is preceded by a period when individuals experience a significant decline in happiness. The boost that is received through migration appears to bring people back to their initial level of happiness. As opposed to labour market outcomes of migration, SWB outcomes do not differ significantly between men and women. Perhaps surprisingly, long-distance migrants are at least as happy as short-distance migrants despite the higher social costs that are involved.

Keywords: longitudinal data; migration; happiness; subjective well-being; UK (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J61 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 18 pages
Date: 2011-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hap, nep-mig and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published - published in: Environment and Planning A , 2013, 45 (4), 986-1002

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Journal Article: Does Migration Make You Happy? A Longitudinal Study of Internal Migration and Subjective Well-Being (2013)
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