Return Intentions of Ukrainian Refugees: The Role of National Identity and Pride

21 Pages Posted: 4 Feb 2025

See all articles by Volodymyr Vakhitov

Volodymyr Vakhitov

American University Kyiv

Nataliia Zaika

American University Kyiv

Serhiy Kandul

University of Zurich

Date Written: November 20, 2024

Abstract

The war in Ukraine has displaced over 6.4 million Ukrainians to neighboring countries. This study investigates the return intentions of Ukrainian refugees, focusing on national identity and pride as psychological factors. Using a large-scale experimental survey, we examined how increasing the salience of these factors affects return decisions. Our findings show that making national identity more salient slightly increases the desire to return, while making pride more salient decreases it, particularly among those with lower pride levels. These results suggest that interventions enhancing national identity could promote return migration, but pride-based strategies should be used cautiously. The study contributes to the literature on migration and identity economics, providing policy insights for facilitating the return of war refugees.

Keywords: identity, migration, refugees, behavioral intervention

JEL Classification: D01, D91

Suggested Citation

Vakhitov, Volodymyr and Zaika, Nataliia and Kandul, Serhiy, Return Intentions of Ukrainian Refugees: The Role of National Identity and Pride (November 20, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5100729 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5100729

Volodymyr Vakhitov

American University Kyiv ( email )

3, Poshtova Sq
Kyiv, Kyiv 04070
Ukraine
04070 (Fax)

Nataliia Zaika

American University Kyiv ( email )

1, Poshtova Sq.
Kyiv
Ukraine

Serhiy Kandul (Contact Author)

University of Zurich ( email )

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