Macro-conditions and immigrants' happiness: Is moving to a wealthy country all that matters?

Migrants look for a better life. In what kind of country will they live happiest? Many migrants aspire to move to wealthy countries, but non-economic factors might be important as well in making a country livable for migrants. This issue is addressed here by examining the impact of macroeconomic conditions and non-economic macro-conditions (good governance and a pleasant social climate) on immigrants' happiness in twenty European nations. We find that immigrants' happiness depends both on economic and non-economic macro-conditions. The social climate is especially important, particularly in terms of a positive attitude in society towards migrants. Our findings imply that the choice of destination country matters for migrants’ happiness and that the discrepancy between migration motives and migration outcomes may constrain immigrants from maximizing subjective gains via migration.     

Legislative responses to wrongful conviction: Do partisan principals and advocacy efforts influence state-level criminal justice policy?

The number of discovered wrongful criminal convictions (and resulting exonerations) has increased over the past decade. These cases erode public confidence in the criminal justice system and trust in the rule of law. Many states have adopted laws that aim to reduce system errors but no study has examined why some states appear more willing to provide due process protections against wrongful convictions than others. Findings from regression estimates suggest that states with a Republican controlled legislature or more Republican voters are less likely to pass these laws while the presence of advocacy organizations that are part of the ‘innocence movement’ make legislative change more likely. We thus identify important differences in the political and social context between U.S. states that influence the adoption of criminal justice policies.