Constructing Migrant Wellbeing: An Exploration of Life Satisfaction Amongst Peruvian Migrants in London

Recent literature on international migrants employed in the lower echelons of the labour market in London has signalled the need to pay more attention to the resources that migrants deploy as well as greater holism in analysis. I suggest in this article that these gaps might be filled using a human wellbeing approach. It is argued that the key advantage of the human wellbeing concept is that it serves as an umbrella or unifying framework that brings together ideas from across a range of disciplines (economics, psychology, sociology) into a common space or conceptual frame, highlighting the complex interplay that exists between material, perceptual and relational dimensions. Application of a human wellbeing approach to the field of international migration has the potential to fill gaps in existing paradigms within migration studies such as transnationalism and multiculturalism. This article also speaks to debates on international migration and social policy, and applies a human wellbeing approach to the case of Peruvian migrants in London.