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The Well-Being Costs of Immigration in Europe

Author

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  • O'Connor, Kelsey J.

    (STATEC Research – National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies)

Abstract

The immigrant population increased by 32 million in 37 European countries from 1990-2019. Much of this movement was internal, from east to west Europe. Although both the destination and origin countries could be affected, we find no effects on aggregate subjective well-being in either group, using country-panel and instrumental variable techniques. Immigrants, in contrast, experienced increased well-being, converted to monetary terms, in excess of £25,000 per person. We offer more comprehensive evidence than previous studies, in terms of country and period, and by assessing the impacts on subjective well-being, which captures all of the important factors affected by immigration.

Suggested Citation

  • O'Connor, Kelsey J., 2025. "The Well-Being Costs of Immigration in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 17816, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17816
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    life satisfaction; migrants; emigration; immigration; subjective well-being; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

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