Climate Events and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Migration in Rural Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Climate change is increasingly displacing rural populations, and migration may reduce economic losses from environmental stress. However, climate events and migration can also entail social and psychological costs overlooked by economic measures. This paper examines the relationship between climate events and life satisfaction in Bangladesh and whether migration mediates this relationship. Using four‐wave panel data from 1449 households along the Jamuna River, we estimate how exposure to riverbank erosion and flooding is associated with changes in life satisfaction using first‐difference models and assess the role of migration using a mediation model. We distinguish between rural and urban destinations and between individual and household migration. Results show that riverbank erosion and, to a lesser extent, flooding are associated with declines in life satisfaction. Declines are larger among migrants, especially when household heads migrate alone. The findings highlight that migration may not protect wellbeing from climate shocks and that adaptation policies should address both economic and sociopsychological costs of climate‐related migration.