Migration and Mental Health : Evidence from a Natural Experiment
People migrate to improve their well-being, whether through an expansion of economic and social opportunities or a reduction in persecution. Yet a large literature suggests that migration can be a stressful process, with potentially negative impact...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/02/7396776/migration-mental-health-evidence-natural-experiment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7178 |
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okr-10986-71782021-04-23T14:02:33Z Migration and Mental Health : Evidence from a Natural Experiment Stillman, Steven McKenzie, David Gibson, John ADD AFFECTIVE DISORDERS AGED ANXIETY ANXIETY DISORDERS ASYLUM BENEFITS OF MIGRATION CITIZENS COMMON MENTAL DISORDERS CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION CULTURAL PRACTICES DEPRESSION DIABETES DISCRIMINATION DROPOUT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES EMOTIONAL DISORDERS EMOTIONAL DISTRESS FAMILIES FAMILY MEMBERS FEMALE MIGRANTS FEMALES HEALTH BEHAVIOR HEALTH CARE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES HEALTH EFFECTS HEALTH FACILITIES HEALTH PROBLEMS HOMELAND SECURITY HOSPITAL HOSPITAL ADMISSION HOUSEHOLD INCOME HUSBANDS HYPERTENSION IMMIGRANT IMMIGRANTS IMMIGRATION IMMIGRATION POLICY IMPACT OF MIGRATION INSOMNIA INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION LABOR MARKET LABOR SUPPLY LABOUR FORCE LIFE ASSESSMENT MAJOR DEPRESSION MARITAL STATUS MENTAL MENTAL DISORDER MENTAL DISTRESS MENTAL HEALTH MENTAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS MENTAL HEALTH NEED MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS MENTAL HEALTH STATUS MIGRANT MIGRANTS MIGRATION MIGRATION PROCESS MINISTRY OF HEALTH MOOD MOOD DISORDERS PACIFIC ISLANDS PHYSICAL HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POTENTIAL MIGRANTS PROGRESS PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS PSYCHOSOMATIC SYMPTOMS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SERVICES QUALITY OF LIFE REFUGEE REFUGEES REPATRIATION RETURNEES RISK FACTORS SCHIZOPHRENIA SCHOOL AGE SCREENING SEX SKILLED MIGRANTS SMOKERS SMOKING SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES SOMATIC SYMPTOM SPOUSE SYMPTOMS TREATMENT UNEMPLOYMENT WORKING CLASS WORKPLACE YOUTH People migrate to improve their well-being, whether through an expansion of economic and social opportunities or a reduction in persecution. Yet a large literature suggests that migration can be a stressful process, with potentially negative impacts on mental health, reducing the net benefits of migration. However, to truly understand the effect of migration on mental health one must compare the mental health of migrants to what their mental health would have been had they stayed in their home country. The existing literature is not able to do this and typically settles for comparing the mental health of migrants to that of natives in the destination country, which takes no account of any pre-existing differences between these groups. This paper overcomes the selection problems affecting previous studies of the effect of migration on mental health by examining a migrant lottery program. New Zealand allows a quota of Tongans to immigrate each year with a lottery used to choose among the excess number of applicants. A unique survey conducted by the authors in these two countries allows experimental estimates of the mental health effects of migration to be obtained by comparing the mental health of migrants who were successful applicants in the lottery to the mental health of those who applied to migrate under the quota, but whose names were not drawn in the lottery. Migration is found to lead to improvements in mental health, particularly for women and those with poor mental health in their home country. 2012-06-05T20:19:15Z 2012-06-05T20:19:15Z 2007-02 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/02/7396776/migration-mental-health-evidence-natural-experiment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7178 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4138 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research East Asia and Pacific New Zealand Tonga |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
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Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
ADD AFFECTIVE DISORDERS AGED ANXIETY ANXIETY DISORDERS ASYLUM BENEFITS OF MIGRATION CITIZENS COMMON MENTAL DISORDERS CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION CULTURAL PRACTICES DEPRESSION DIABETES DISCRIMINATION DROPOUT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES EMOTIONAL DISORDERS EMOTIONAL DISTRESS FAMILIES FAMILY MEMBERS FEMALE MIGRANTS FEMALES HEALTH BEHAVIOR HEALTH CARE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES HEALTH EFFECTS HEALTH FACILITIES HEALTH PROBLEMS HOMELAND SECURITY HOSPITAL HOSPITAL ADMISSION HOUSEHOLD INCOME HUSBANDS HYPERTENSION IMMIGRANT IMMIGRANTS IMMIGRATION IMMIGRATION POLICY IMPACT OF MIGRATION INSOMNIA INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION LABOR MARKET LABOR SUPPLY LABOUR FORCE LIFE ASSESSMENT MAJOR DEPRESSION MARITAL STATUS MENTAL MENTAL DISORDER MENTAL DISTRESS MENTAL HEALTH MENTAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS MENTAL HEALTH NEED MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS MENTAL HEALTH STATUS MIGRANT MIGRANTS MIGRATION MIGRATION PROCESS MINISTRY OF HEALTH MOOD MOOD DISORDERS PACIFIC ISLANDS PHYSICAL HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POTENTIAL MIGRANTS PROGRESS PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS PSYCHOSOMATIC SYMPTOMS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SERVICES QUALITY OF LIFE REFUGEE REFUGEES REPATRIATION RETURNEES RISK FACTORS SCHIZOPHRENIA SCHOOL AGE SCREENING SEX SKILLED MIGRANTS SMOKERS SMOKING SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES SOMATIC SYMPTOM SPOUSE SYMPTOMS TREATMENT UNEMPLOYMENT WORKING CLASS WORKPLACE YOUTH |
| spellingShingle |
ADD AFFECTIVE DISORDERS AGED ANXIETY ANXIETY DISORDERS ASYLUM BENEFITS OF MIGRATION CITIZENS COMMON MENTAL DISORDERS CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION CULTURAL PRACTICES DEPRESSION DIABETES DISCRIMINATION DROPOUT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES EMOTIONAL DISORDERS EMOTIONAL DISTRESS FAMILIES FAMILY MEMBERS FEMALE MIGRANTS FEMALES HEALTH BEHAVIOR HEALTH CARE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES HEALTH EFFECTS HEALTH FACILITIES HEALTH PROBLEMS HOMELAND SECURITY HOSPITAL HOSPITAL ADMISSION HOUSEHOLD INCOME HUSBANDS HYPERTENSION IMMIGRANT IMMIGRANTS IMMIGRATION IMMIGRATION POLICY IMPACT OF MIGRATION INSOMNIA INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION LABOR MARKET LABOR SUPPLY LABOUR FORCE LIFE ASSESSMENT MAJOR DEPRESSION MARITAL STATUS MENTAL MENTAL DISORDER MENTAL DISTRESS MENTAL HEALTH MENTAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS MENTAL HEALTH NEED MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS MENTAL HEALTH STATUS MIGRANT MIGRANTS MIGRATION MIGRATION PROCESS MINISTRY OF HEALTH MOOD MOOD DISORDERS PACIFIC ISLANDS PHYSICAL HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POTENTIAL MIGRANTS PROGRESS PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS PSYCHOSOMATIC SYMPTOMS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SERVICES QUALITY OF LIFE REFUGEE REFUGEES REPATRIATION RETURNEES RISK FACTORS SCHIZOPHRENIA SCHOOL AGE SCREENING SEX SKILLED MIGRANTS SMOKERS SMOKING SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES SOMATIC SYMPTOM SPOUSE SYMPTOMS TREATMENT UNEMPLOYMENT WORKING CLASS WORKPLACE YOUTH Stillman, Steven McKenzie, David Gibson, John Migration and Mental Health : Evidence from a Natural Experiment |
| geographic_facet |
East Asia and Pacific New Zealand Tonga |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4138 |
| description |
People migrate to improve their
well-being, whether through an expansion of economic and
social opportunities or a reduction in persecution. Yet a
large literature suggests that migration can be a stressful
process, with potentially negative impacts on mental health,
reducing the net benefits of migration. However, to truly
understand the effect of migration on mental health one must
compare the mental health of migrants to what their mental
health would have been had they stayed in their home
country. The existing literature is not able to do this and
typically settles for comparing the mental health of
migrants to that of natives in the destination country,
which takes no account of any pre-existing differences
between these groups. This paper overcomes the selection
problems affecting previous studies of the effect of
migration on mental health by examining a migrant lottery
program. New Zealand allows a quota of Tongans to immigrate
each year with a lottery used to choose among the excess
number of applicants. A unique survey conducted by the
authors in these two countries allows experimental estimates
of the mental health effects of migration to be obtained by
comparing the mental health of migrants who were successful
applicants in the lottery to the mental health of those who
applied to migrate under the quota, but whose names were not
drawn in the lottery. Migration is found to lead to
improvements in mental health, particularly for women and
those with poor mental health in their home country. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Stillman, Steven McKenzie, David Gibson, John |
| author_facet |
Stillman, Steven McKenzie, David Gibson, John |
| author_sort |
Stillman, Steven |
| title |
Migration and Mental Health : Evidence from a Natural Experiment |
| title_short |
Migration and Mental Health : Evidence from a Natural Experiment |
| title_full |
Migration and Mental Health : Evidence from a Natural Experiment |
| title_fullStr |
Migration and Mental Health : Evidence from a Natural Experiment |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Migration and Mental Health : Evidence from a Natural Experiment |
| title_sort |
migration and mental health : evidence from a natural experiment |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/02/7396776/migration-mental-health-evidence-natural-experiment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7178 |
| _version_ |
1764401569266139136 |