Internal displacement and subjective well-being: the case of Ukraine

Abstract

Although Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) outnumber refugees globally, few studies have examined their well-being and assimilation into the local population. Here we investigate Ukraine, which hosts the largest IDP population in Europe. In 2014, war erupted in eastern Ukraine, resulting in around 1.7 million people forced to resettle throughout Ukraine. Despite being ethnically and culturally similar to the local population, IDPs encountered severe economic, housing, and social challenges, as well as residual trauma from violence. In this study we examine the extent to which subjective well-being (SWB) of IDPs differs from locals who were not displaced. We explore whether the difference in subjective well-being between IDPs and locals is due to economic hardship, inadequate housing, and/or weak social support. Using a unique survey conducted in 2018 and OLS regression methods, we find a sizable gap in SWB
between IDPs and locals. The gap shrinks after accounting for economic and housing status, and support from local networks. Measures of loss in housing and social networks additionally account for the gap. However, none of the factors we measure can account for the difference between locals and IDPs who reported only leaving due to violence, pointing to the enduring impact of trauma on SWB.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Brienna Perelli-Harris: orcid.org/0000-0001-8234-4007

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