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Personality traits, migration intentions, and cultural distance

Author

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  • Didier Fouarge
  • Merve Nezihe Özer
  • Philipp Seegers

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between Big Five personality traits and individuals' intentions to migrate in countries that vary in their culture. Using data collected from university students in Germany, we find that extraversion and openness are positively associated with migration intentions, while agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability negatively relate to migration intentions. Openness positively and extraversion negatively relate to the willingness to move to culturally distant countries after controlling for geographic distance and economic differences between countries. Extravert and conscientious individuals are less likely to prefer linguistically distant countries contrary to agreeable individuals. Este artículo investiga la relación entre los rasgos de personalidad de los Cinco Grandes y las intenciones de los individuos de emigrar a países con culturas diferentes. Utilizando datos obtenidos de estudiantes universitarios en Alemania, se encontró que la extraversión y el talante abierto se asocian positivamente con las intenciones de migración, mientras que la afabilidad, la diligencia y la estabilidad emocional se relacionan negativamente con las intenciones de migración. La apertura y la extraversión se relacionan de forma positiva y negativa, respectivamente, con la voluntad de emigrar a países culturalmente distantes, una vez controladas la distancia geográfica y las diferencias económicas entre países. Los individuos extrovertidos y concienzudos son menos propensos a preferir países lingüísticamente distantes que los individuos afables. 本稿では、ビッグ・ファイブ・パーソナリティ特性と文化的に異なる国に移住する個人の意思との関連性を検討する。ドイツの大学生のデータから、移住の意思と外向性 (extraversion)および開放性 (openness)に正の関連が、協調性 (agreeableness)、誠実性 (conscientiousness)、情緒安定性 (emotional stability)とは負の関連が認められた。2国間の地理的距離と経済的な違いで調整した場合では、文化的な違いのある国への移住意思と開放性は正の関連、外向性は負の関連を示した。外向的で誠実な人は、協調的な人とは反対に、言語が大きく異なる国を選考する傾向が弱い。

Suggested Citation

  • Didier Fouarge & Merve Nezihe Özer & Philipp Seegers, 2019. "Personality traits, migration intentions, and cultural distance," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 98(6), pages 2425-2454, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:presci:v:98:y:2019:i:6:p:2425-2454
    DOI: 10.1111/pirs.12468
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    2. Vasile Gherheș & Gabriel-Mugurel Dragomir & Mariana Cernicova-Buca, 2020. "Migration Intentions of Romanian Engineering Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-31, June.
    3. Daniel Crown & Masood Gheasi & Alessandra Faggian, 2020. "Interregional mobility and the personality traits of migrants," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(4), pages 899-914, August.
    4. Bertoni, Marco & Chattopadhyay, Debdeep & Gu, Yuanyuan, 2023. "Medical Brain Drain – Assessing the Role of Job Attributes and Individual Traits," IZA Discussion Papers 16243, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Cheng, Ziyi & Chen, Xi, 2024. "Cognitive ability, the Big Five, and rural-to-urban migration in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Shahriyar Mukhtarov & Hasan Dinçer & Halim Baş & Serhat Yüksel, 2022. "Policy Recommendations for Handling Brain Drains to Provide Sustainability in Emerging Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-24, December.
    7. 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).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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