Migration and mental health: Evidence from a natural experiment

Abstract

People migrate to improve their well-being. Yet a large literature suggests that migration can be a stressful process, with potentially negative impacts on mental health. However, to truly understand the effect of migration one must compare the mental health of migrants to what their mental health would be had they stayed in their home country. The existing literature is not able to do this. New Zealand allows a quota of Tongans to immigrate each year with a random ballot used to choose amongst the excess number of applicants. Experimental estimates of the mental health effects of migration are obtained by comparing the mental health of migrants who were successful applicants in the random ballot to the mental health of those who applied to migrate under the quota, but whose names were not drawn. Migration is found to lead to improvements in mental health, particularly for women and those with poor mental health.

The Long-term Impacts of International Migration: Evidence from a Lottery

“…However, we do find an improvement in mental health, with the ITT impact being significant after multiple testing corrections (the LATE impact has a p-value of 0.020). This is consistent with the positive impact on mental health seen in the first year after migration (Stillman et al, 2009), although the magnitude of the longterm impact (0.87) is just under half of the one-year impact (1.94). The final two columns show that migration has had no impact on two measures of physical health: whether or not the individual smokes, and whether health problems disrupt their usual activities.…”

“…Our (Stillman et al, 2009). A follow-up survey three years later tracked 89 of these migrants (Stillman et al, 2015).…”

Happiness and financial satisfaction in Israel: Effects of religiosity, ethnicity, and war

“…depression) is included. In a recent study Stillman, McKenzie, and Gibson (2009) for the first time estimate the causal effect of migration on mental health by using information on a lottery system that randomly chooses from all the applicants the ones that are allowed to migrate from psychological well-being and thus to happiness. They conclude that migration to New Zealand improves the mental health of Tongan immigrants and that the effect is larger for women and for those with lower levels of mental health before migration.…”

Korean migrants' experiences and attitudes towards mental illness and mental health services in New Zealand

“…Migrating and adapting into new cultures have been found to be so stressful that the negative impacts on the wellbeing of migrant's mental health reduce the net benefits of migration (Stillman, McKenzie, & Gibson, 2009). Even with positive developments such as globalisation, the process of migration remains "a unique and profound stressor" for migrants (Murphy, 2006, p. 79 (Nisbett, 2003).…”