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The Subjective Well-Being of Immigrants: Pre- and Post-migration

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  • Karin Amit
  • Ilan Riss

Abstract

In recent years, migration studies have increasingly shown that subjective well-being carries considerable weight in immigrant integration. Yet little is known about the subjective well-being of immigrants in their origin country (pre-migration) or its relation to their well-being in the host country. This paper examines the relationship between subjective well-being, both pre- and post-immigration, among North Americans who arrived in Israel during the past two decades. The study combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods. According to our quantitative findings, the labor market performance of North American immigrants in Israel is lower than in their origin countries. Further, we learned from the qualitative analysis that although the immigrants’ positions in the labor market were better in their origin countries, the immigrants perceived their standard of living in Israel to be the same as in their origin country—if not better—due to the low cost of services in Israel. The importance of the immigrant’s satisfaction from the current job in Israel was apparent in the findings of both methods. We also found that the subjective well-being of North American immigrants in Israel is relatively high, and most immigrants did not consider leaving Israel. The subjective well-being of the immigrants in Israel was found to be related to their social networks in their origin country, to their religious immigration motive and to their work satisfaction in Israel. The more supportive the immigrants’ families were of their decision to immigrate, the less the immigrants tended to consider leaving Israel. Immigrants with a religious motivation for immigrating to Israel were less inclined to leave, and the same was true for immigrants who were satisfied with their work in Israel. The qualitative data added important perspective on the immigrants’ social networks, this time in Israel. Interviewees reported having more supportive social networks in Israel, and a greater sense of community, although most of their contacts were within the Anglo community. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Karin Amit & Ilan Riss, 2014. "The Subjective Well-Being of Immigrants: Pre- and Post-migration," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 247-264, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:119:y:2014:i:1:p:247-264
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0492-7
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    1. Gasper, D.R., 2004. "Human well-being : concepts and conceptualizations," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19148, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
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    6. Karin Amit, 2010. "Determinants of Life Satisfaction Among Immigrants from Western Countries and from the FSU in Israel," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 96(3), pages 515-534, May.
    7. Douglas S. Massey & Ilana Redstone Akresh, 2006. "Immigrant Intentions and Mobility in a Global Economy: The Attitudes and Behavior of Recently Arrived U.S. Immigrants," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 87(s1), pages 954-971.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zsóka Kóczán, 2016. "(Why) are immigrants unhappy?," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-25, December.
    3. 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.
    4. Laura Dryjanska & Cheryl Zlotnick, 2019. "Wannabe Israeli: immigrants wrestling with their identity," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(5), pages 2557-2574, September.
    5. Cristian Ortiz & Aldo Salinas & Johanna Alvarado & Viviana Huachizaca, 2024. "How Much are you Willing to Accept for Being Away From Home? Internal Migration and Job Satisfaction Among Formal-Informal Ecuadorian Workers," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 19(4), pages 1829-1857, August.
    6. Kiyoshi Yonemoto, 2021. "Reference-dependent preference and interregional migration: extending the Harris–Todaro model," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, April.
    7. Félix Neto & Daniela C. Wilks & Ana Cristina Menezes Fonseca, 2019. "Job-Related Well-Being of Immigrants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 463-475, January.

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