Healthy migrants? Comparing subjective health of German emigrants, remigrants, and non-migrants

Abstract

This article analyses the self-rated health of German emigrants and remigrants compared to non-mobile Germans. Moreover, using a scale measuring self-assessed health changes, we are able to research the health dynamics immediately before and after the migration event. Data from the German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS) as well as from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) that covers the general German population are used. In researching how self-selectivity of German migrants contributes to health differences, we use linear regression models to control for a series of relevant covariates. Our findings show a healthy migrant effect for German emigrants and remigrants compared to the German general population. This advantage diminishes after controlling for the covariates, but remains relevant in size and significance. Moreover, the health advantage increases with age at the time of migration. Furthermore, we find only weak evidence that migration has a negative effect on health. The analyses rather show that more than 50% of the migrants report that their health is the same as before the migration, around 30% report health improvements, and only a minor group report worsening health.