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Does Migration Make You Happy? A Longitudinal Study of Internal Migration and Subjective Well-Being

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  • Nowok, Beata

    (University of St. Andrews)

  • van Ham, Maarten

    (Delft University of Technology)

  • Findlay, Allan M.

    (University of St. Andrews)

  • Gayle, Vernon

    (University of Stirling)

Abstract

The majority of modelling studies on consequences of internal migration focus almost exclusively on the labour market outcomes and the material well-being of migrants. We investigate whether individuals who migrate within the UK become happier after the move than they were before it and whether the effect is permanent or transient. Using life satisfaction responses from 12 waves of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and employing a fixed-effects model, we derive a temporal pattern of migrants' subjective well-being (SWB) around the time of the migration event. Our findings make an original contribution by revealing for the first time that, on average, migration is preceded by a period when individuals experience a significant decline in happiness. The boost that is received through migration appears to bring people back to their initial level of happiness. As opposed to labour market outcomes of migration, SWB outcomes do not differ significantly between men and women. Perhaps surprisingly, long-distance migrants are at least as happy as short-distance migrants despite the higher social costs that are involved.

Suggested Citation

  • Nowok, Beata & van Ham, Maarten & Findlay, Allan M. & Gayle, Vernon, 2011. "Does Migration Make You Happy? A Longitudinal Study of Internal Migration and Subjective Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 6140, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6140
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    subjective well-being; happiness; migration; longitudinal data; UK;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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