Life satisfaction of migrants, stayers and returnees: reaping the fruits of migration in old age?

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effects of migration on life satisfaction in later life. We compare the life satisfaction of older migrants with that of non-migrants and return migrants, of a similar age and originating from the same regions in Turkey. Turks constitute one of the largest migrant groups in Europe, and the growing population of older Turkish migrants display greater risks of loneliness and material disadvantage compared to native-born populations in Europe. However, compared to their non-migrant peers from the country of origin, older migrants may experience gains from migration that are reflected in their life satisfaction.Using the 2000 Families study, a large survey of Turkish migrants from the peak labour migration period and their non-migrant comparators, we investigate whether life satisfaction of migrants and stayers differs and the possible causes of any differences. We find that both migrants and return migrants experience higher life satisfaction in old age than stayers.However, the gap cannot be explained by the classical determinants of life satisfaction such as income, health, partner and friends, or religiosity, nor by the better outcomes of the migrants' children. We discuss possible reasons for this migration satisfaction advantage.

Expanding the Happiness Paradox: Ethnoracial Disparities in Life Satisfaction Among Older Immigrants in the United States

“…Thus, it is possible that the happiness advantage found across immigrant groups stems from processes of downward comparisons with nonimmigrants from the home country. A recent study exploring disparities in life satisfaction among older Turkish immigrants and stayers from the same region of origin observed that first-generation immigrants reported higher levels of happiness than counterparts that never left home (Baykara-Krumme & Platt, 2016). Finally, it is well-established that most immigrants advance socially and economically with time in destination countries (e.g., Constant & Massey, 2005).…”

Returning to the country of origin in later life: Longitudinal evidence from the German Socio‐Economic Panel

“…Several studies analysed the well‐being of migrants and demonstrated that they are less satisfied than the native‐born in the host country (see, among others, Baykara‐Krumme & Platt, ; Nesterko et al., ; Safi, ). In this paper, we explore the role of well‐being in triggering migrants’ intention to return to the country of origin in later life by analysing a sample of foreign individuals surveyed in the German Socio‐Economic Panel data.…”

Altern im Migrationskontext

“…Die Befundlage ist gemischt, zeigt aber für gewisse Migrantengruppen eine höhere Zufriedenheit im Vergleich zu den nichtmigrierten Peers im Herkunftsland (Hendriks 2015). Nur wenige Studien haben diesbezüglich explizit auch ältere Menschen mit Zuwanderungsgeschichte in den Blick genommen; insgesamt zeigen diese Studien ebenfalls positivere Befunde für die Migrantinnen und Migranten, auch unter Berücksichtigung anderer Faktoren (Kofahl et al 2012;Baykara-Krumme und Platt 2018). Eine Erklärung könnte sein, dass ältere Migrantinnen und Migranten, und gerade jene, die häufig pendeln, bei der Bewertung ihrer Lebenszufriedenheit weniger die objektiv bessergestellten einheimischen Älteren im Zielland, sondern ihre nichtmigrierten, früheren Nachbarinnen und Nachbarn und Verwandten vor Augen haben, denen es insbesondere in Ländern mit vergleichsweise wenig ausgebautem Wohlfahrtsstaat im höheren Lebensalter oft relativ schlechter geht.…”