Remittances and subjective well-being: A static versus dynamic panel approach to happiness

Using all five waves of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) panel dataset, we examine the effect of domestic remittances on the static and dynamic subjective well-being (SWB) of recipient individuals in South Africa, by using a random effects ordered probit model that accounts for individual heterogeneity. Moreover, we check the robustness of our static model results by making use of an instrumental variable for migrants’ remittances. Two major empirical findings emerge from this paper: firstly, domestic remittances are consistently found to have a positive and statistically significant impact on the happiness of recipient individuals. Moreover, this finding persists in both the static and dynamic panel models. Secondly, the coefficient on lagged SWB (derived from the dynamic model) is found to be positive and statistically significant, confirming that SWB today is significantly influenced by SWB in the past.

Editorial

The new issue of Migration Letters reflects again on the complexities of a post-Covid 19 world, characterized by the overlapping of old and new migratory experiences, divided along old and new configurations of racial, ethnic and religious stratification. This issue includes several topics whose relevance in the inclusive recovery we wish for, has already been highlighted. These include the securitization of migration (Stefancik, Némethová and Seresová); the continuing relevance of global remittances (Biyase, Fisher and Pretorius); the structures of exclusion in naturalization process (Catherine Simpson Bueker); the health conditions of refugees (Mendola and Busetta) and the practices of ‘othering' during the Covid-19 pandemic (Lumayag and Bala). The articles in this issue also focus on the integration and irregular migration in the South of Europe (Hüseyinoğlu and Utku; Cela and Barbiano di Belgiojoso; Kobelinsky and Furri; Terzakis and Daskalopoulou) as well as in affluent EU countries like Austria (Rauhut). Finally, two important contributions reflect on the gender perspective, a most relevant approach needed to counterbalance the gender bias in much of Covid analysis so far. These articles analyze in particular ethnic minorities’ fertility practices in Southern Europe (Carella, Del Rey Poveda and Zanasi) and gender role perceptions among minorities in England and Wales (Zuccotti).

Family networks and refugees’ health conditions. A picture from Italian informal settlements

While the relationships between social networks and health are widely acknowledged in the literature, few of these studies have covered the population of refugees living in makeshift camps. In our analysis of a nationally representative Italian survey of individuals living in informal settlements, we find that many had weak family relations: only 10 per cent had one or more family members in their settlement. The paper analyses the effects of individual social network on two measures of health, and finds that the refugees’ health conditions were associated with both their personal characteristics and the characteristics of the settlement. The results show that more than 50 per cent of these foreign nationals recently had health problems, and that those with no family members in the settlement had significantly higher chances of both being in bad or very bad health and having experienced a health problem in the last month.

Socio-cultural integration of first generation immigrants in Greece

We analyze the socio-cultural integration (SCI) of first generation immigrants as the outcome of economic integration and regularization. We focus on Greece for which similar evidence do not exist and report SCI levels and the factors that are conducive to them. We construct a simple socio-cultural integration index and analyze its variation against pre and post migration factors, using a sample of 200 first generation immigrants in Greece. Robust empirical estimation techniques are applied. Results reveal interesting findings with regard to immigrants’ types of adaptation to the host community. On a zero to ten scale, average SCI levels are estimated at 5.7 (± 2.5) which is high in absolute terms but low in terms of the degree (type) of integration. After controlling for the socio-demographic profile of the respondents, naturalization and their time living in Greece, we find that education and employment status are the most important determinants of socio-cultural integration.

Fear and voting: Evidence of a threat-opportunity model of citizenship acquisition among lower income immigrants of color beginning the naturalization process

Citizenship acquisition is viewed as the key indicator of political incorporation into US society and one motivated by the desire to formally engage in the civic realm, but we know naturalization is undertaken for many reasons. What we know less about is what motivates particular groups. Through surveying 74 lower socio-economic immigrants of color initiating the naturalization process at free citizenship clinics in the Boston, Massachusetts area in the northeastern United States in fall 2019, we examine the stated motivations to naturalize. The survey data reveal that the desire to engage politically is the most commonly cited primary motivation to naturalize (44%), followed by a desire to feel safer in the US (29%). When looking at primary and secondary motivations, 66% cite the ability to vote, and 59% cite the desire to feel safer. The combined motivations of security and political engagement suggest a “threat-opportunity” model of citizenship acquisition, whereby immigrants assess the external socio-political threats and seek to neutralize them through both naturalizing and then engaging politically to change the environment. At the same time, statistically significant relationships between motivations and ethno-racial group and country of origin suggest additional factors must be examined.

Securitisation of Migration in the Language of Slovak Far-Right Populism

Although the Slovak Republic is not a country of immigrants, since 2015 the topic of international migration has dominated its political discourse. Due to the migration situation in 2015, Slovak politicians have also begun to use the topic of migration to mobilise their voters. Paradoxically, there are no significant differences among the relevant Slovak political parties on this topic, hence Slovak politicians take a similar approach to the issue of migration. This article focuses on the People's Party Our Slovakia as a leading representative of far-right populism. We intend to explore how Slovak far-right populists articulate the issue of international migration. Our analysis has found that the language of far-right populists reflects a dichotomy of “we/us” (good) vs. “they/them” (evil). Far-right populists emphasise the negative consequences of migration, as they perceive migrants as a threat to national security. In-depth analyses of political texts have revealed that the securitisation of migration by far-right populists has several dimensions. Migrants are perceived as a threat to the economic, political and cultural security of the state.

Indian Migrants in Brunei: The Role of Social Networks

Indian immigrants have emerged as a dominant community in Brunei nowadays. Since the colonial period, there has been an influx of Indian migrants to Brunei. This research investigates the social networks that Indians used to get to Brunei. Evidently, there has been little research on these group of people in Brunei. This study employs a sample of 17 low, semi, and unskilled Indian migrants chosen on snow-ball basis. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. According to the findings of this study, social networks played a significant role in making the decision to migrate over to Brunei. We found that chain migration mechanism has been active in the India-Brunei migration domain since long. As a risk diversification approach, migration networks act as a web of interpersonal connections that connect migrants, former migrants, and non-migrants in their origin and destination countries via relationships of kinship, friendship, and common community origin.

Loneliness Among Migrants in Italy: Risks and Protectors

In this study we focused on migrants’ loneliness, in order to unpack risks for, and protective factors against, loneliness among migrants in Italy. Our data come from the ‘Social Condition and Integration among Foreign Citizens’ survey conducted by ISTAT during 2011–2012 on a sample of 25,000 individuals living in a household with at least one foreign-born member. Our results show that economic resources and employment protect from loneliness feelings, whereas education does not. Family and social embeddedness and satisfaction with life are protective factors, whereas discrimination, language barriers, deprived neighbourhoods and poor health are associated with a higher risk of loneliness. Gender is a key lens to consider when analysing loneliness especially in relation to fragile populations like those with a migratory background.

Post-Migration Fertility in Southern Europe: Romanian and Moroccan women in Italy and Spain

This paper seeks to analyse migrant women’s reproductive behaviour in two countries with the lowest fertility rates, namely, Italy and Spain. We assess differences in migrant fertility patterns according to country of origin by comparing the post-migration motherhood of Moroccan and Romanian women. We have used data from the “2007 National Immigrant Survey” (INE) and the ”2011-2012 Survey on Social Integration and Condition among Foreign Citizens” (ISTAT) to adopt an event-history approach to the factors that affect the birth of the first child after migration. Specifically, we focus on marital status upon arrival and on the number of previous children, controlling in turn for the women’s socioeconomic circumstances. The results show, firstly, that Moroccan women have a higher fertility rate than Romanians in both countries. Secondly, the risk of the first birth shortly after migration is higher among childless and married women, and this probability remain high even for women from Morocco with children. Thirdly a cross-country comparison reveals that the results related to childbearing patterns are similar.

Turkish-Greek Relations and Irregular Migration at the Southeasternmost Borders of the EU: The 2020 Pazarkule Case

In late February 2020, Turkish authorities declared that they would not avoid refugees who wanted to exit to Europe as a result of which Edirne faced another, this time massive, refugee movement in its history. Eventually, the flocking of hundreds and thousands of desperate people for the purpose of crossing to the European Union (EU) turned into a situation in which Turkey, Greece as well as the European Union involved. This paper investigates the Pazarkule case by analysing foreign policy concerns of both Greece and Turkey. It holds this foreign policy-migration nexus behind Turkey’s as well as Greece’s policy responses and introduces a comparative study by analysing both Greek and Turkish official discourse and sources. This research argues that although Turkey’s and Greece’s refugee policy responses seem to be quite different, they actually have similar aims. That is, both countries use their strategic relations with the EU for their own foreign policy concerns by underlining their foremost importance for the Union in terms refugees trying to make their way to Europe.