It's the Economy! Perceptions of Host-Countries' Institutions and Individual Life Satisfaction of Intra-European Migrants

Abstract

By drawing data from the European Social Survey (ESS) (2008-2016), this study explores how immigrants' assessments of economy, democracy, and quality of public goods (such as health and education systems) in the receiving societies contribute to their life satisfaction. Results indicate that satisfaction with the economy is the strongest correlate of individual life satisfaction among European immigrants, and this association is particularly pronounced among immigrants from Turkey, Eastern and Southern Europe. Assuming that immigrants compare institutions of their host and home countries when assessing institutional features of the host countries, relative gains in satisfaction with the performance of host-country economy are shown to be associated with particularly higher levels of overall life satisfaction among immigrants from Turkey, Eastern and Southern European countries than the rest of Europe. We conclude that, in relative terms, migrants from countries with less well-functioning economies to countries with more favorable economic conditions display higher levels of perceived satisfaction with the host country economies, which contributes considerably to their overall life satisfaction.

The impact of migrants' knowledge about their social rights on their subjective wellbeing

“…A strong feeling of belonging with the native population and a higher share of native friends indeed increases migrants' wellbeing. Also, migrant women are significantly happier than migrant men and better health is also associated with higher levels of subjective wellbeing, findings consistent with previous research (Hadjar and Backes, 2013;Kogan and Shen, 2019). Age and length of stay, however, do not have a significant effect on migrants' wellbeing.…”

“…Hence, possessing the knowledge that one is entitled to visit the doctor, independently of whether it is because of a cold or cancer, and to receive predominantly low-cost treatment can have a tremendous effect on migrants' wellbeing (Prilleltensky, 2008). Similarly, unemployment is a general risk most employees face today due to the decreasing numbers of fixed contracts, particularly if these workers have a migration background (Kogan and Shen, 2019). Already the general knowledge of their rights with regards to unemployment benefits can lead to integrative measures such as investing in timeand money consuming language courses instead of immediately entering the low-skilled labor market, which promises quick money but often leads to dead-end jobs.…”

Aspirations, agency and well‐being of Romanian migrants in Greece

“…Another strand of quantitative research analyses the wider trends in migrants' perception of their well-being and predictions of migration movements (Grimes & Wesselbaum, 2019;Kogan & Shen, 2019;Migali & Scipioni, 2019;Tjaden et al, 2019). Most of these studies report problems in the measuring of well-being, stress a lack of sufficient data and effectively compare migrants and nonmigrants.…”

“…A significant amount of the research on well‐being and happiness focuses on migrants, using quantitative analysis to compare various indicators based on statistical data and large‐scale survey data (Bartram, 2013; Bartram, 2015; Helliwell et al, 2018; OECD, 2017; Safi, 2010). Another strand of quantitative research analyses the wider trends in migrants' perception of their well‐being and predictions of migration movements (Grimes & Wesselbaum, 2019; Kogan & Shen, 2019; Migali & Scipioni, 2019; Tjaden et al, 2019). Most of these studies report problems in the measuring of well‐being, stress a lack of sufficient data and effectively compare migrants and nonmigrants.…”

Receiving Country Investments and Acquisitions: How Migrants Negotiate the Adaptation to Their Destination

“…Apart from having different starting points, migrants with varying qualification are also hypothesized to have differing integration patterns (Kogan & Shen, 2019;Kogan, Shen, & Siegert, 2018). Economic migrants who come with an already secured job or with strong intention to work can have incentives to improve their position which non-economic migrants or unskilled migrants may not share (Cortes, 2004a).…”