Pursuit of happiness: Subjective well‐being of immigrants and natives
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| Author | Sameen Zafar,Suman Ammara |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13062 |
1Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore
University of Management Sciences (LUMS),
Lahore, Pakistan
2PhD Economics, University of Nottingham,
Nottingham, UK
Correspondence
Dr. Sameen Zafar, Suleman Dawood School of
Business, Lahore University of Management
Sciences (LUMS), Opposite Sector U, DHA,
Lahore, Pakistan.
Email: dr.sameenzafar@gmail.com
Abstract
Recent studies establish that subjective well-being plays a
significant part in the adjustment of immigrants in the host
country and that after facing the initial costs of migration,
immigrants experience levels of well-being similar to natives
across generations. Using two surveys, including the World
Values Survey as well as the joint World Values Survey and
European Value Survey, we, however, find that variations
in subjective well-being of immigrants and natives persist
across generations, with second-generation immigrants
experiencing higher differences. This finding can be attrib-
uted to an increase in the aspirations of second-generation
immigrants. In developed regions, both first-generation and
second-generation immigrants have a higher probability of
reporting greater subjective well-being than natives, which
can be attributed to an improved standard of living among
immigrants. Additionally, we look at the association between
holding immigration-friendly attitudes and the subjective
well-being of natives. Our study provides important policy
insights.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Pursuit of happiness: Subjective well-being of
immigrants and natives
Sameen Zafar1,2 | Suman Ammara1
DOI: 10.1111/imig.13062
Received: 14 December 2021 Revised: 13 May 2022 Accepted: 26 July 2022
INTRODUCTION
With an increasing rate of migration globally due to several factors including wars, political uncertainty and other
socio-economic reasons, the well-being of immigrants has increasingly become a crucial issue to address, requir-
ing immediate policy interventions (Alba & Foner, 2014). The projected figures of international migrants globally
have increased to 280 million approximately in 2020, among which 60 million were added just between 2020
and 2021 (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2020). A large proportion of in-migration
314
© 2022 International Organization for Migration.
International Migration. 2023;61:314–335.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING OF IMMIGRANTS & NATIVES315
was experienced by more advanced high-income countries (65% of international migrants worldwide in 2020)
as compared to middle-income (31% of international migrants) and low-income countries (4% of international
migrants). Similarly, the migration activity was more closely associated with Western European countries, whose
stock of international migrants as a percent of the total population was around 17% 2020. In Eastern European
countries this percentage was around 12% (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2020).
An analysis of the well-being of immigrants in a country and the impact of their presence on the well-being of
natives can generate important policy insights. Although studies have investigated various objective measures
like income to assess well-being, the focus is now largely shifting towards subjective indicators of well-being
(Kóczán, 2016).
Subjective well-being refers to one's own assessment of their life, specifically using the Cantril ladder, which is
a popular cognitive measure of subjective well-being (Helliwell et al., 2018). It is most often reported by individuals
themselves who are required to evaluate different parts of their lives and rate it. In the past literature, to measure
subjective well-being, individuals rated their satisfaction in different domains of their life (including income, marital
status and so on) on a scale of 1–10 or ranked their happiness on different levels (Stevenson & Wolfers, 2009).
Alternatively, subjective well-being may also be measured by looking at positive and negative affect (emotion) in
individual's lives (Helliwell et al., 2018). Subjective well-being, while argued to be a consequence of life experiences
and circumstances, is also theorised to be a personality trait. For example, Myers (2000) suggests four common traits
to be an indicator of happiness in individuals. These include high self-esteem, an impression of personal control and
being optimistic and extroverted.
In our study, we limit our focus to the evaluation of life satisfaction and happiness by the individuals them-
selves. As subjective well-being of individuals is known to have an influence on other factors such as physical health
(Bericat, 2016) and future earning opportunities (Neve & Oswald, 2012), among other outcomes, it is essential to
study it in detail specifically in the context of immigrants and natives to understand how their well-being may be
improved.
While studies show that migration has assisted in migrants transitioning towards more productive work and
higher incomes (Helliwell et al., 2018), questions regarding their life satisfaction and happiness in the host country
arise. Most literature focusing on the subjective well-being of immigrants reports lower subjective well-being among
them (Baltatescu, 2005; Kóczán, 2016). A lower subjective well-being among immigrants in comparison to natives is
at odds with the classic-assimilation theory that suggests that well-being indicators of immigrants become similar to
those of natives with time after the initial losses due to migration are recovered (Alba & Nee, 1997). But while the
objective indicators of immigrants like income and expenditures may improve, well-being in terms of objective meas-
ures may be very different to subjective well-being as shown by Stillman et al. (2015) in their study.
When evaluating their subjective well-being, it is theorised that instead of looking at socio-cultural and economic
indicators objectively, individuals tend to compare indicators with those around them as a reference base (Hendriks
& Burger, 2020). Thus, variations that exist in subjective well-being among immigrants in comparison to natives
may be a result of objective economic determinants, racism, loneliness among immigrants (Kóczán, 2016), as well as
differences in social capital (Tegegne & Glanville, 2018). Nonetheless, all these elements do not wholly account for
differences that occur in subjective well-being of immigrants as well as natives, implying the need for other contrib-
uting factors to be explored.
Immigrants migrating to host countries may have high expectations, which, when not met, lead to lower subjec-
tive well-being. Further, with the passage of time immigrants tend to start comparing themselves to natives in the
host country and feel worse off (Piore, 1979). As sources of comparison change, there is a shift in the desired stand-
ard of living (Hendriks & Burger, 2020). This is more relevant for second-generation immigrants who are more prone
to compare themselves with natives in the host country and feel worse off while first-generation immigrants tend to
do so with those back at home (Maxwell, 2010). However, immigrants who migrate to more developed economies,
are theorised to possess a more optimistic view of the host country resulting in a higher subjective well-being of
immigrants.
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