Females Welcome! When immigrants make the native population happy

Despite the growing interest in migration studies, research examining the impact of immigration on the subjective well-being of local populations remains surprisingly limited, often yielding inconclusive and contradictory findings. Notably, the influence of the gender composition of immigrant populations has been overlooked in the literature. This study addresses this gap by employing the social production function framework to assess how gender-specific immigration patterns affect the well-being of native populations over time, using longitudinal data from Germany and Catalonia (Spain). Our empirical analysis employs fixed-effects panel models for both regions, a regression discontinuity design, and a difference-in-differences specification for Germany, providing robust evidence of substantial gender-based differences in the effects of immigration. Specifically, we find that the arrival of female immigrants is significantly and positively correlated with increased life satisfaction among the native population. In contrast, the influx of male immigrants is associated with a reduction in native life satisfaction. This pattern holds consistently across both male and female natives. Interestingly, during periods of economic crisis, the observed disparity between the effects of female and male immigration appears to diminish, suggesting that financial conditions may moderate the influence of gender-specific migration. These findings carry important implications for understanding the drivers of anti-immigrant sentiments, particularly in contexts where gender dynamics may play a critical role. Moreover, the results have potential policy relevance, suggesting that differentiated approaches to immigration management could help mitigate the social tensions arising from gender-specific migration trends.