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Do Non-Economic Quality of Life Factors Drive Immigration?

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  • Gail Pacheco
  • Stephanie Rossouw
  • Joshua Lewer

Abstract

This paper contributes to the immigration literature by generating two unique non-economic quality of life (QOL) indices and testing their role on recent migration patterns. Applying the generated QOL indices in conjunction with four independent welfare measures to an augmented gravity model of immigration, this paper finds an insignificant relationship between the six non-economic QOL measures and immigration flows for a panel of 16 OECD countries from 1991 to 2000. However, the results suggest that other factors such as the stock of immigrants from the source country already living in the OECD destination country, population size, relative incomes, and geographic factors all significantly drive the flow of immigration for the sample tested. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Gail Pacheco & Stephanie Rossouw & Joshua Lewer, 2013. "Do Non-Economic Quality of Life Factors Drive Immigration?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:110:y:2013:i:1:p:1-15
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-011-9924-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicole B. Simpson & Chad Sparber, 2013. "The Short‐ and Long‐Run Determinants of Less‐Educated Immigrant Flows into U.S. States," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 80(2), pages 414-438, October.
    2. Rajko Tomaš, 2022. "Measurement of the Concentration of Potential Quality of Life in Local Communities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 79-109, August.
    3. Talita Greyling & Stephanié Rossouw, 2017. "Non-Economic Quality of Life and Population Density in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 1051-1075, December.
    4. Milan Palat, 2014. "Integration prospects of Turkey into European Structures and Turkish Immigration to Germany," Border Crossing, Transnational Press London, UK, vol. 4(1-2), pages 32-40, January-J.
    5. Gabriele Morettini & Andrea F. Presbitero & Massimo Tamberi, 2012. "Determinants of international migrations to Italian provinces," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(2), pages 1604-1617.
    6. Stephanié Rossouw & Talita Greyling, 2017. "Regional disparities in non-economic quality of life in South Africa: convergence or divergence?," Working Papers 2017-06, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    7. Rosa M. Soriano-Miras & Antonio Trinidad-Requena & Jorge Guardiola, 2020. "The Well-Being of Moroccan Immigrants in Spain: A Composite Indicator," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 635-653, April.
    8. Xi Liu & Clio Andris & Bruce A Desmarais, 2019. "Migration and political polarization in the U.S.: An analysis of the county-level migration network," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(11), pages 1-16, November.
    9. Simpson, Nicole B. & Sparber, Chad, 2012. "The Short- and Long-Run Determinants of Less-Educated Immigration into U.S. States," IZA Discussion Papers 6437, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Milan Palat, 2014. "Integration prospects of Turkey into European Structures and Turkish Immigration to Germany," Border Crossing, Transnational Press London, UK, vol. 2014(1403), pages 32-40, October.
    11. Simpson, Nicole & Sparber, Chad, 2010. "The Short-and Long-Run Determinants of Unskilled Immigration into US States," Working Papers 2010-06, Department of Economics, Colgate University.
    12. Gisela Waisman & Birthe Larsen, 2016. "Income, amenities and negative attitudes," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-32, December.
    13. Libman, Alexander & Herrmann-Pillath, Carsten & Yadav, Gaurav, 2013. "Are human rights and economic well-being substitutes? The evidence from migration patterns across the Indian states," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 139-164.
    14. Ali Tarık AKARCA & Aysıt TANSEL, 2018. "Analyzing Internal Migration to Antalya and Muğla through Gravity ModellingAbstract: Antalya and Muğla provinces located in southwestern Turkey recently emerged as new magnets for internal migration. ," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 26(37).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; Quality of life; Gravity model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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