Immigrant Integration in Europe: A Subjective Well-Being Perspective (Human Well-Being Research and Policy Making)

This topical book sheds light on immigrants’ subjective well-being by analysing the main factors associated with self-reported life satisfaction among immigrants and natives. It thereby draws upon subjective components of well-being, which are now receiving growing attention in well-being research. It also fills in a gap in migration research, which has not yet focused on the study of immigrants’ well-being. Starting from a broader focus on Europe, the book then looks more closely at Italy. This is a key country in the immigration policy field in Europe, but where the study of immigrants’ integration from a subjective perspective has been rarely addressed so far. The book provides suggestions for constructing and implementing immigration and integration policies by not only taking into account the needs of the host societies, but also the experiences, opinions, requirements and expectations of immigrants. This book is very useful for academic and policy researchers working on immigrant integration issues. Acknowledgements Contents About the Author List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes List of Photos 1 Introduction 1.1 Rationale and Structure of the Book 1.2 Immigration in Europe: A Short Historical Overview 1.3 The Refugee Crisis: A Litmus Test for the European Union 1.4 Is the Global Governance of Migration a Solution to Future Migration Crises? References 2 Immigrant Integration Policies in Europe 2.1 What Does Integration Mean in Europe? 2.2 The ‘Traditional National Models of Immigration and Integration’ 2.3 Beyond the Tradition: Traits and Pitfalls of Civic Integration 2.4 The Unintended Consequences of the Civic Integration Paradigm References 3 The European Union Framework on Immigrant Integration 3.1 How the European Union Understands Integration 3.2 The Construction of a “Soft Governance” on Immigrant Integration 3.3 The Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021–2027 3.4 The Current State of Play and the Way Forward References 4 Subjective Well-Being of Immigrants in Europe 4.1 Defining Subjective Well-Being 4.2 The Importance of Subjective Well-Being as a Measure of Individual and Societal Progress 4.3 Why Subjective Well-Being Matters When Studying Immigrant Integration 4.4 Main Research Strands for the Study of Immigrants’ Subjective Well-Being References 5 Immigrants’ Self-reported Life Satisfaction in Europe 5.1 Previous Studies on Immigrants’ Self-reported Life Satisfaction in Europe 5.2 Main Methodological Challenges 5.3 The Main Individual Factors Associated with the Self-reported Life Satisfaction of First-Generation Immigrants Residing in Seven European Countries 5.4 The Destination Moves the Needle: The Role of Country-Level Factors References 6 Immigrants’ Subjective Well-Being in Italy 6.1 Immigration in Italy 6.2 The Subjective Well-Being of First-Generation Immigrants in Italy 6.3 The Main Individual Factors Associated with First-Generation Immigrants’ Self-reported Life Satisfaction in Italy 6.4 How First-Generation Immigrants Perform Compared to Natives? A Difficult Approach for Subjective Well-Being in Italy References 7 Subjective Well-Being of Children with a Migrant Background in Italy 7.1 The Integration of Children with a Migrant Background in Europe: A Short Overview 7.2 The Subjective Well-Being of Children with a Migrant Background in Europe 7.3 Children with a Migrant Background in Italy 7.4 Subjective Well-Being and Educational Attainment of Children with a Migrant Background and Their Native Peers in Italy References 8 Conclusions: Policy Implications of Immigrants’ Subjective Well-Being 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Immigrants’ Self-reported Life Satisfaction: Key Takeaways 8.2.1 Policy Recommendations: An Integrated System of Policy Actions 8.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research 8.4 Concluding Thoughts References