Differences in Subjective Well-being Between Older Migrants and Natives in Europe

Stefan Gruber,Gregor Sand

doi:10.1007/s10903-016-0537-5

Abstract

This study examines disparities in subjective well-being (SWB) among older migrants and natives across several European countries using data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Our results show a significant SWB gap between migrants and non-migrants that diminishes with increasing age. While migrants from Northern and Central Europe have similar SWB levels as natives, Southern European, Eastern European, and Non-European migrants have significantly lower levels of SWB than the native population. The immigrant-native gap becomes smaller but remains significant after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and health, the financial situation, citizenship, age at migration, and length of residence. Additionally, we find that the size of the SWB gap varies largely across countries. Current family reunion policies as measured by the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) correlate with these country differences. The immigrant-native gap is bigger in countries with restrictive and smaller in countries with open policies.

Highlights

Demographic aging and international migration have transformed the European population structure significantly
We see no striking differences between migrants and natives, with two exceptions: Migrants make up a higher share of people with financial difficulties and, unexpectedly, the educational level measured according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED97) is slightly higher among migrants
The present study focuses on older migrants and explores the differences in subjective wellbeing (SWB) between migrants and non-migrants in different European countries

Summary

Introduction

Demographic aging and international migration have transformed the European population structure significantly. Studies on the subjective wellbeing (SWB) of migrants in later life are scarce and the influence of the institutional conditions of receiving societies on migrants’ SWB has hardly been accounted for. Most studies in this field focus on person-related characteristics. Apart from demographic features (such as gender and age) and migration-specific variables (like length of residence, language skills, and citizenship), they identify economic conditions, health status, social networks, and psychological factors as the main determinants of SWB [9,10,11]. There is limited knowledge on how these policies affect the SWB of migrants, in later life

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Results

Conclusion