Using German panel data and relying on internal relocation, this paper investigates the anticipation and adaptation of subjective well-being (SWB) in the course of migration. We hypothesize that SWB correlates with the process of migration, and that such correlations are at least partly socially stratified. Our fixed-effects regressions show no evidence of any anticipation of SWB before the event of migration, but a highly significant and sustained positive adaptation effect. In general, (internal) migration seems to lead to a long-lasting increase in SWB. This is found to be the case for almost all analyzed socioeconomic and socio-demographic subgroups. The migration distance, the reasons for migration, and the individual’s personality traits do not appear to have any important effects on the overall observed pattern. Although these results suggest that regional mobility in Germany is a response to opportunities rather than to certain stressors, we found that the positive effect of migration on SWB seems to be hardly mediated by changes in individuals’ net income, and only partly by transitions into home ownership.

本文利用德国面板数据，以内部迁移为依托，考察迁移过程中主观幸福感（SWB）的预期与适应。我们假设 SWB 与迁移过程相关，并且这种相关性至少部分是社会分层的。我们的固定效应回归显示没有证据表明在迁移事件发生之前对 SWB 有任何预期，但存在非常显着且持续的积极适应效应。一般而言，（内部）移民似乎会导致 SWB 的长期增长。发现几乎所有分析过的社会经济和社会人口子群体都是这种情况。迁移距离、迁移原因和个人的性格特征似乎对整体观察模式没有任何重要影响。