Gijs Westra: Neighbourhoods, Ethnicity, and Moves: The Spatial Sorting of Well-Being in Sweden

Abstract

This thesis connects ethnic and socioeconomic spatial sorting and its neighbourhood effects to the spatial dimension of well-being. The work investigates how well-being is spatially sorted, particularly where and why. Three papers explore these questions through measures of well-being either as a good life through the performance in seven or eight well-being-related life course domains (known as external well-being) obtained from the population registers or satisfaction with life (known as internal well-being) obtained from the 2020 Neighbourhood Survey. 

Paper 1 explores the spatial distribution of external well-being over various bespoke scales finding the most variation at the most-detailed scales. The neighbourhood level well-being is correlated with levels of education and concentration of ethnic minorities. K-means cluster analysis finds that 24% of the labour force live in neighbourhoods of homogenised well-being over all scales. 10% of the labour force live in areas of spatially homogenous low well-being. Paper 2 explores the variation in internal well-being between sociodemographic neighbourhood types in relation to attitudes towards the neighbourhood. Linear regression shows that migrant-dense, socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods are associated with lower well-being. This association disappears when attitudes towards the neighbourhoods are included. Paper 3 explores the development of external well-being around the time of moving among various types of movers. Fixed effect growth curve models find that ethnic minorities and long-distance relocators have a long-term decrease in well-being after moving. Ethnic minorities already have a decline in well-being before moving, which might suggest a tendency for forced relocations.

It is concluded that well-being is spatially sorted at the neighbourhood level: a geography and demography of low well-being can be observed to answer the ‘where’ well-being is spatially sorted. The geography of low well-being refers mainly to migrant-dense areas built during the Million Homes programme at the edge of cities. The demography of low well-being refers to non-European migrants consistently having lower well-being. Regarding ‘why’ well-being is spatially sorted indications are found for both sorting effects, through the differences in well-being around moving, and neighbourhood effects, through the difference in neighbourhood appraisal.