Dr David Bartram

• Deputy Head of the School of Criminology, Sociology, and Social Policy at Leicester
• Editor-in-Chief of Social Indicators Research
• Vice-president, International Society for Quality of Life Studies
• Past President of RC31, the Research Committee on International Migration of the International Sociological Association.
• Funding awards from the UK Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, Leverhulme, and the Nuffield Foundation.
• Two books: Key Concepts in Migration (SAGE, with Maritsa Poros and Pierre Monforte) and International Labor Migration: Foreign Workers and Public Policy (Palgrave).
• PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BA from Kenyon College (USA)
• Research widely covered in the media, including articles in The Guardian, Time, Women's Health, The Telegraph, The Independent.  Interviews on BBC Radio 4's "Thinking Allowed".

My primary research focuses on happiness & life satisfaction. I have written extensively about migration and happiness. In general, gaining more money doesn’t make people happier, and so I’m led to wonder whether migration to a wealthier country increases happiness for migrants. I suspect it makes many of them less happy, insofar as people make great sacrifices to gain more income in the (possibly misguided) belief that the increase will make them happier.

My current research aims to improve the quantitative modelling used to explore causal relationships in this area. There is much confusion about how to select control variables for this purpose. I emphasise a distinction between “confounders” (variables that are antecedents not only of the outcome but of the focal variable whose impact we seek to identify) and “intervening variables” (i.e. they intervene in a path from the focal variable to the outcome). To estimate a causal impact we would control for confounders but exclude intervening variables. So, using this distinction we would not need any control variables to estimate the impact of age on happiness — because no individual-level variables are causally prior to age.

2025. "Does inequality undermine life satisfaction? Effective identification of country-level controls for a longitudinal investigation". European Sociological Review.

2025. "Comparing migrants’ and stayers’ happiness: Addressing incomplete information via a bounds analysis". Migration Studies, 13:2.

2024. “Towards the Next Fifty Years of Social Indicators Research: Some Guidance for Authors”. Social Indicators Research, 174.

2024. “To evaluate the age-happiness relationship, look beyond statistical significance.” Journal of Happiness Studies, 25:22.

2023. “Does belief in meritocracy increase with inequality? A reconsideration for European countries.” British Journal of Sociology, 74:5, 763-780

2023. “Sexual orientation and life satisfaction.” Journal of Sociology, 59:1, 20-35

2023. “Is happiness u-shaped in age everywhere? A methodological reconsideration for Europe.” National Institute Economic Review., 263, 61-75.

2022. “A longitudinal investigation of integration/multiculturalism policies and attitudes towards immigrants in European countries.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48:1, 153-172. (with Erika Jarochova)

2022. “The ‘Gender Life-Satisfaction/Depression Paradox’ Is an Artefact of Inappropriate Control Variables", Social Indicators Research, 164:3, 1061-1072.

2022. “Is happiness u-shaped in age everywhere? A methodological reconsideration for Europe.” National Institute Economic Review. 

2022. “Sexual orientation and life satisfaction.” Journal of Sociology.

2022. “Does inequality exacerbate status anxiety among higher earners? A longitudinal evaluation“. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 63:4, 184-200.

2022. “A longitudinal investigation of integration/multiculturalism policies and attitudes towards immigrants in European countries.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48:1 (with Erika Jarochova)

2021.“Cross-sectional model building for research on subjective well-being: gaining clarity on control variables.” Social Indicators Research 155: 725-743.

2021. “Age and life satisfaction: Getting control variables under control.” Sociology 55:2 421-437.

2021. "Does the UK ‘citizenship process’ lead immigrants to reject British identity? A panel data analysis." Ethnicities 21:2, 375-394

2021. "Fare differently, feel differently: mental well-being of UK-born and foreign-born working men during the COVID-19 pandemic." European Societies 23 (sup1), S370-S383 (with Jing Shen)

2019.“The UK citizenship process: political integration or marginalization?” Sociology 53:4.

2019. "Sociability among European Migrants." Sociological Research Online 24:4, 557-574

2018. "Bringing Happiness Into the Study of Migration and Its Consequences: What, Why, and How?" Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies 17:3, 279-298 (Authors: Martijn Hendriks, David Bartram)

2018. "Life Satisfaction and the UK Citizenship Process: Do Tests and Ceremonies Enhance Immigrants’ Lives?" International Migration 56:6, 24-35

2016. “Macro-conditions and immigrants' happiness: Is moving to a wealthy country all that matters?” Social Science Research 56 90-107. (Authors: Martijn Hendriks, David Bartram)

2015. “Forced migration and ‘rejected alternatives’: a conceptual refinement.” Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies 13:4 439-56.

2014. Key Concepts in Migration. Sage Publications. Authors: David Bartram Maritsa V. Poros Pierre Monforte (Translations: Turkish (2017) Korean (2017) Chinese (2022))

2013. “Happiness and ‘economic migration’: A comparison of Eastern European migrants and stayers.” Migration Studies 1:2 156-75. Awarded the journal’s inaugural Prize for Best Article.

2011. “Economic Migration and Happiness: Comparing Immigrants’ and Natives’ Happiness Gains from Income.” Social Indicators Research 103:1 57-76. 2011. “Migration Ethno-nationalist Destinations and Social Divisions: Non-Jewish Immigrants in Israel.” Ethnopolitics 10:2 235-252.

2010. “International Migration Open Border Debates and Happiness.” International Studies Review 12:3 339-361.

• Power, Privilege, and Diversity (1st-year core module for Sociology BA)
• International Migration (3rd-year option)
• Quantitative Methods
• Global Poverty & Development
• Research Methods
• Sociology of Religion

• Research Fellow Award, International Society for Quality of Life Research
• Prize for best article, Migration Studies, 2013 ("Happiness and 'economic migration': a comparison of Eastern European migrants and stayers")
• Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning, University of Reading

Selected newspaper coverage:

Taz.de, 8 June 2023: Das Glück vermessen (Measuring happiness, re the alleged age/happiness “u-curve”), link

Women’s Health, 2 September 2022: Heard the theory that your 40s are your unhappiest age? Here’s why that might be wrong, link

The Conversation, 31 August 2022: The U-shaped happiness curve is wrong: many people do not get happier as they get older, link

The Guardian: 17 April 2022: Rich countries that let inequality run rampant make citizens unhappy, study finds, link

Now is the summer of my discontent: it's just too sunny to write this column, The Guardian, link

One in four British expats quit Spain in just one year as study reveals those who move to the Med are LESS happy, Daily Mail, link

Brits who migrate to Costa del Sol more unhappy than those who stay at home, The Independent, link

Wetterflüchtlinge sind weniger glücklich, Der Spiegel, link

Those who move to Mediterranean 'unhappier than people in Britain', The Daily Telegraph, link

Yahoo News, http://news.yahoo.com/study-europe-eclipses-notion-home-sun-equals-happiness-000956274--sector.html

Sunny climate no guarantee of happiness – study, Otago Daily Times, link

Europe eclipses notion: Home in sun = happiness, Emirates 24/7, link

Life less fun in the sun for north Europe migrants, study finds, Japan Times, link

El sol no hace la Felicidad, SoyChile, link

Selected radio appearances:

BBC Radio 4, February 2020, “Thinking Allowed”, extended interview on research about UK naturalization and the political engagement of immigrants

BBC Radio 4, October 2010, “Thinking Allowed”, extended interview on research about happiness and migration

PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Sociology).  Supervisor: Erik Olin Wright

BA, Kenyon College (Sociology)