Identity, Migration and Happiness

Abstract

In this essay I offer reflections on how research on identity might connect to emerging research on happiness and well-being. I start with the premise that academic researchers, to the extent that we are interested in the “impact” of our research, would find it difficult to avoid a concern with happiness or well-being – insofar as we would want the “impact” of our work to be positive rather than negative. This premise poses difficult challenges for research on identity: while one can  easily find positive correlations between strength of national identity and happiness,  it is by no means clear that increases in strength of national identity would lead to  increased happiness. A particular concern arises in relation to immigrants: efforts  to enhance national identity among immigrants might carry negative consequences  for their well-being, particularly if such efforts are conducted by governments in a  quasi-coercive mode.