Subjective-wellbeing Disparities: Examining the Roles of Social Assistance, Employment and Migration Background in Amsterdam

Abstract

Subjective-wellbeing (SWB) levels in Amsterdam are declining more rapidly than nationally, which has been associated to the high population of people with a migration background in Amsterdam, as this group on average has a lower SWB. SWB is also strongly effected by employment status. Therefore this study focuses on the effect of social assistance receipt compared to income through employment and the moderating role of migration background on SWB in Amsterdam. Utilizing data from the ‘Staat van de Stad 2022’ survey of O&S (research department of the municipality of Amsterdam) this study performed logistic regression analyses to examine these relationships with N = 2,345. The results suggest that the SWB of social assistance recipients is significantly lower than of respondents that have income through employment. Additionally, this relationship is moderated by migration background, with first-generation migrants showing lower odds of low SWB compared to respondents without a migration background and second-generation migrants in social assistance. Methodologically, the strengths of the research include the stratified and weighted sample that ensures the representativeness of the Amsterdam population of the sample. This study's main limitations are the inability to verify the representativeness of the sample due to lack of CBS data access, categorizing SWB as a dichotomous variable and the reliance on a single overall happiness question to measure SWB. The insights from this study can inform policies that are aimed at improving SWB of Amsterdam citizens about SWB disparities in Amsterdam. Future research should explore distinctions in country or areas of origin of migration backgrounds and perform in-depth qualitative research to learn more about how citizens experience their wellbeing and how the relationship between social assistance receipt, migration background and SWB is embedded.