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Migration and the quality of life: A review essay

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This paper provides a review of the past 30 years of research on the relationships between migration or residential mobility and the quality of life broadly construed, mainly in Canada and the United States. In the final section a check-list of critical issues in quality-of-life research is given.

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Michalos, A.C. Migration and the quality of life: A review essay. Soc Indic Res 39, 121–166 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00286971

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