Remittances and Life Satisfaction of Immigrants Living in Istanbul

Abstract

The immigrant remittances emerged due to the international migration occupy an important place especially in the economies of developed and underdeveloped countries along with their serious contributions. In addition to their macro level importance these remittances sent to family members for various reasons cause also important transformations in the socio-economic structure of society. This study aims to analyse the effect of sending remittance on immigrants’ life satisfaction. The surveys were conducted face-to-face with 1006 immigrants living in Istanbul and the responses were analysed using the OLS analysis method. The questions in the survey were prepared in English and in Turkish. Immigrants who are a part of the study are people who have legally obtained a residence permit in Turkey. The dependent variable in this study was “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?” It is life satisfaction, which consists of individual answers to the question. Participants were asked to rate on a ranking scale ranging from 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied. People from 89 different countries took part in the study. Results indicate that sending remittance reduces people’s happiness. People who have left their country due to economic conditions are observed to be more unhappy. On the other hand savings make people happier. In addition people who think that their financial status is better after the migration are happier than others.