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Macroeconomic Fluctuations in Home Countries and Immigrants’ Wellbeing: New Evidence from Down Under

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  • Ha Trong Nguyen

    (Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, Curtin University)

  • Alan Duncan

    (Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, Curtin University)

Abstract

In this paper we provide the first solid empirical evidence that improvements in home countries’ macroeconomic conditions, as measured by a higher GDP per capita and lower price levels, increase immigrants’ subjective well-being. We demonstrate this using 12 years of data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia panel, as well as macroeconomic indicators for 59 countries of origin, and exploiting exogenous changes in macroeconomic conditions across home countries over time. Controlling for immigrants’ observable and unobservable characteristics we also find the positive GDP impact is statistically significant and economically large in size. Furthermore, the GDP and price impact erodes when immigrants get older, or when they stay in the host country beyond a certain period of time. However, home countries’ unemployment rates and exchange rate fluctuations have no impact on immigrants’ well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Ha Trong Nguyen & Alan Duncan, 2015. "Macroeconomic Fluctuations in Home Countries and Immigrants’ Wellbeing: New Evidence from Down Under," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1502, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
  • Handle: RePEc:ozl:bcecwp:wp1502
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    Cited by:

    1. Nguyen, Ha Trong & Duncan, Alan S, 2017. "Exchange rate fluctuations and immigrants' labour market outcomes: New evidence from Australian household panel data," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 174-186.
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    3. Ha Trong Nguyen & Luke Brian Connelly, 2018. "Out of sight but not out of mind: Home countries' macroeconomic volatilities and immigrants' mental health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 189-208, January.

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    Keywords

    GDP; Unemployment; Inflation; Exchange Rate; Well-being; Immigrants; Australia;
    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

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