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Internal migration and human capital theory: To what extent is it selective?

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  • Korpi, Martin
  • Clark, William A.V.

Abstract

Empirical studies of internal labor migration, modeling average outcomes, suggest migrants move to enhance returns to their labor. In contrast, major international surveys show less than a third of internal migrants as motivated by employment reasons. Using Swedish panel data for the years 2001–2009, this paper addresses this disconnect by examining the full distribution of migrant income changes. Results from initial CEM matching and quantile regression suggest that large returns to internal migration are mostly captured by the higher educated, those initially low in the income distribution and those heading into the largest metropolitan regions. Much if not most of migration outcomes are however a wash and indeed often negative in terms of pay-off. This suggests models of average outcomes as insufficient in addressing human capital motivated migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Korpi, Martin & Clark, William A.V., 2015. "Internal migration and human capital theory: To what extent is it selective?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 31-34.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:136:y:2015:i:c:p:31-34
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2015.08.016
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    Cited by:

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    3. Mkrtchyan, N. & Florinskaya, Y., 2019. "Residents of Small and Mid-Size Towns of Russia: Labor Migration as an Alternative to Permanent Transfer," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 43(3), pages 78-94.
    4. Halvarsson, Daniel & Tingvall, Patrik, 2017. "The Impact of Employing Mismatched Workers on Firm Productivity, Wages and Profits," Ratio Working Papers 291, The Ratio Institute.
    5. Maximiliano Alvarez & Vicente Royuela, 2022. "The effect of labor‐market differentials on interregional migration in Spain: A meta‐regression analysis," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 913-937, September.
    6. Clara H. Mulder, 2018. "Putting family centre stage: Ties to nonresident family, internal migration, and immobility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(43), pages 1151-1180.
    7. Dolores Añon Higón & Ionnanis Bournakis, 2024. "Global Value Chains (GVCs) participation and Markups," Working Papers 2403, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration; Human capital; Labor mobility; Urban rural;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

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