Migration, crime and life satisfaction in Chile: Pre and post-migration evidence.

Every year many Chileans migrate, an increasing trend. Academic literature often highlights the roles of individual well-being and crime among important reasons for migration in general. We contribute to this literature by focusing on Chile. This investigation considers, with multiple years of a secondary dataset, the intention to migrate and, with a primary data sample, the post migration life of Chileans. We find that Chileans are more likely to migrate if they are less satisfied with life, have themselves or a family member been a victim of crime, are highly dissatisfied with their income, at least reasonably well-educated, self-employed and male. We also present tentative evidence that, for those who have migrated, being a victim of crime when in Chile is associated with greater life satisfaction in the host country. Policy implications are also presented, reflecting the desire of the Chilean government desire to slow this increasing trend of migration.