by Tony Beatton (University of Queensland), Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell (IAE-CSIC and BSE), Paul Frijters (LSE), and Arthur Grimes (Victoria University of Wellington)
In June 2020, panelists of the World Wellbeing Panel were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with two statements about migration: (i) “A large sudden influx of migrants with a very different culture to the host region, will very likely reduce the wellbeing of residents in the first few years of entry"; and (ii) “increased cultural diversity will, in the mid-term, increase residents’ wellbeing”.
With 25 respondents, the balance of opinion was agreement with both statements: 12 agreed with the first statement (3 disagreed and 10 neither agreed nor disagreed), while 11 agreed with the second (1 disagreed and 11 were neutral). A ubiquitous theme brought up by most was that there were many factors involved that could sway the matter either way.
Does migration end up increasing or decreasing wellbeing overall?
Gigi Foster, School of Economics, UNSW Business School, Australia.
Bruno Frey, Visiting Professor of Economics and Wellbeing, University of Basel, Switzerland.
Paul Frijters, CEP Wellbeing Programme London School of Economics, UK.
Arthur Grimes, Wellbeing and Public Policy, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Ori Heffetz, Associate Professor of Economics, Cornell University and Hebrew University, USA.
John Helliwell, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Christian Krekel, Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics, UK.
Eugenio Proto, Professor of Applied Economics University of Glasgow, UK.
Maurizio Pugno, Full Professor of Economics University of Cassino, Italy.
Jordi Quoidbach, Associate Professor of Behavioral Decision Making, ESADE Business School, Spain.
Mariano Rojas, Professor of Economics, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, Mexico.
Francesco Sarracino, Economist, Research Division of the Statistical Office of Luxembourg.
Alois Stutzer, Professor of Political Economics, University of Basel, Switzerland.
Wenceslao Unanue, Assistant Professor, Business School, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile.
Ruut Veenhoven Professor of Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam Netherlands.
Maarten Vendrik, Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, Netherlands.
Heinz Welsch, Professor of Economics, University of Oldenburg, Germany.
Rainer Winkelmann, Professor of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Mark Wooden, Professorial Research Fellow and Director of the HILDA Survey Project, University of Melbourne, Australia.
References
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Howley, P., M. Wagas, M. Moro, L. Delaney, and T. Heron, 2019. It’s Not All about the Economy Stupid! Immigration and Subjective Well-Being in England. Work, Employment, and Society.
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Longhi S., 2014. Cultural diversity and subjective well-being IZA Journal of Migration, 3: 13.
