Constructor Talks: Dr. Hilke Brockmann on the science of happiness and how female immigrants make for happy societies
Can immigrants make a native population happier? It's a provocative question in today's political climate, where anti-immigration sentiment seems to be rising across Europe. But according to groundbreaking research from Constructor University Professor of Sociology Dr. Hilke Brockmann, the answer is yes, with an important caveat: gender matters.
Today we celebrate March 20 – International Day of Happiness – with a special episode of Constructor Talks, the podcast that goes beyond the press release to meet the minds behind the science. René Wells sat down with world-renowned happiness researcher Dr. Brockmann to explore the science behind this core human emotion, what makes happy societies thrive, and why her latest research findings challenge common assumptions about immigration.
The (scientific) pursuit of happiness
Dr. Brockmann has spent nearly 20 years at Constructor University studying happiness and well-being in societies. After discovering the topic through a collaborative project comparing cultural experiences of happiness between China and East Germany, she became fascinated with the universal elements that underpin happiness across seemingly disparate cultures, things like basic security and welfare, meaningful social connections, and a deeper sense of purpose.
In the episode, Dr. Brockmann explains how the field gained significant momentum after former French President Nicolas Sarkozy commissioned a working group with two Nobel Prize laureates to explore measures of societal well-being beyond GDP. Today, the United Nations publishes an annual World Happiness Report every March 20—World Happiness Day—consistently finding that Scandinavian countries top the rankings thanks to well-functioning governments, low corruption, safety and strong communal experiences.
"Females Welcome" and the immigration paradox
Dr. Brockmann also discussed her latest research "Females Welcome: When immigrants make the native population happy,” which examines how immigration affects the happiness of host populations in Germany and Spain. The findings challenge prevailing narratives about migration's negative impact.
“This is particularly interesting against the background of our contemporary discussion, which is very xenophobic,” she explained. “People may think that immigrants are negative to a population but that is not the case,” explained Dr. Brockmann. “Even in East Germany, where we have a lot of right-wing voters, people are happy, generally, if people come to their country because it shows that this is a very good place to be, where others also want to be.”
Perhaps the study's most striking finding is the gender effect: female immigrants have a significantly more positive impact on host population happiness than male immigrants. This pattern held true across both Germany and Spain, even during the 2014-2015 migration crisis when Syrian refugees arrived in large numbers.
“I think it could have quite an impact on migration policy if we consider the sex composition of the inflow of migrants,” Dr. Brockmann explained, noting that countries like Germany typically have higher numbers of men immigrating into the country than women. She speculated that policies aimed at increasing female immigration closer to parity could even help improve conditions for women in their countries of origin, by signaling their societal value and creating economic opportunities for them to support not only themselves, but their families back home.
The importance of being happy
When asked what drives her research, Dr. Brockmann's answer was simple: “Making the place a better world. And also understanding.” She emphasized the importance of scientific freedom and researchers' responsibility to communicate their findings to society, particularly in an era when that freedom feels increasingly threatened. Her advice for individuals seeking to contribute to societal happiness? “Be open, look around, follow your own dreams. Because if you are happy, it also infects others. So happiness is infectious.”
Check out the full episode to hear Dr. Brockmann's full thoughts on the building blocks of a happy society.
The Constructor Talks podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon and YouTube, with new episodes released each month. Be sure to subscribe and tune in for in-depth conversations with top researchers, innovators and thinkers who are helping to shape the way we live, learn and understand the world around us.
