The Financial Satisfaction of African Immigrants in Australia

Abstract

This paper investigates the level of, as well as the determinants of financial satisfaction among African immigrants in Australia. It does so by broadening the arena of investigation beyond that of the labour market alone in order to better capture the characteristics of this group that could explain which factors play a significant role in explaining their expression of financial satisfaction. The panel-type HILDA Survey provides data about different aspects of life satisfaction. Based on this dataset, preliminary findings show that African immigrants in Australia are less satisfied with their financial situation compared to almost all other groups. Further investigation reveals that characteristics such as age, labour force status and education significantly contribute to determining the financial satisfaction of African-born people in Australia. Overall, the findings are largely consistent with the wider literature and suggest that investigations of immigrant integration that exclude nonlabour market measures do not provide a full picture of the immigrant integration experience in Australia.