Abstract
The extant literature on migration and well-being 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 and difference-in-differences, we assess migration's effects on the well-being 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. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 164-186 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization |
Volume | 112 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr-2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Migration
- Transition economies
- Well-being
- INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
- LIFE SATISFACTION
- PROPENSITY SCORE
- PANEL-DATA
- MATCHING METHODS
- EASTERN-EUROPE
- SELF-SELECTION
- HAPPINESS
- IMMIGRATION
- CAUSAL