Local-level immigration and life satisfaction: The EU enlargement experience in England and Wales

Ivlevs, Artjoms; Veliziotis, Michail

Abstract

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. The 2004 European Union enlargement resulted in an unprecedented wave of 1.5 million workers relocating from Eastern Europe to the UK. We study the links between this migrant inflow and life satisfaction of native residents in England and Wales. Combining the British Household Panel Survey with the Local Authority level administrative data from the Worker Registration Scheme, we find that higher levels of local immigration were associated with a decrease in life satisfaction among older, unemployed and lower-income people, and with an increase in life satisfaction among younger, employed, higher-income and better educated people. These findings are driven by the initial ‘migration shock’ – the inflows that occurred in the first two years after the enlargement. Overall, our study highlights the importance of local-level immigration in shaping the life satisfaction of receiving populations. We also argue that our results help explain the socio-demographic patterns observed in the UK Brexit vote.

Citation

Ivlevs, A., & Veliziotis, M. (2018). Local-level immigration and life satisfaction: The EU enlargement experience in England and Wales. Environment and Planning A, 50(1), 175-193. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X17740895

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 9, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Nov 14, 2017
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2018
• Journal: Environment and Planning A
• Print ISSN: 0308-518X
• Electronic ISSN: 1472-3409
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 175-193
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X17740895
• Keywords: immigration, life satisfaction, spatial correlation approach, United Kingdom, 2004 EU enlargement
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/871741
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X17740895