Abstract

GREYLING, Talita. The expected well-being of urban refugees and asylum-seekers in Johannesburg. S. Afr. j. econ. manag. sci. [online]. 2016, vol.19, n.2, pp.232-248. ISSN 2222-3436.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2222-3436/2016/v19n2a5.

The influx of asylum-seekers and refugees from across Africa into democratic South Africa has increased significantly. The aim of this paper is to determine the factors that influences the expect well-being of this unique group. Expected well-being is an important determinant of both the decision to migrate and the choice of a country of destination. Knowledge about this determinant therefore informs refugee policies. The results show that only a few of the factors found in the literature explaining the expected well-being of voluntary migrants also explain the expected well-being of forced migrants. However, a number of factors found in the literature that explain the subjective well-being and well-being in general of refugees and asylum-seekers also went towards explaining the expected well-being of this group. These factors include: government assistance, culture, the time spent in South Africa, economic factors, crime, refugee status, reasons for leaving the home countries and the number of people staying in a house in the receiving country. The findings of this study emphasise the differences between forced and voluntary migrants and highlight the factors that influence the expected well-being of forced migrants. These in turn shed light on migration decisions and the choice of destination countries.

Keywords : expected well-being; Johannesburg; forced migrants; refugees; Asylum-seekers; South Africa; well-being.

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