IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v11y2024i1d10.1057_s41599-024-03997-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Migration behaviors leaving metropolitan areas: assessing the impacts of health risks and teleworking in the COVID-19 context

Author

Listed:
  • Xue Peng

    (Asian Growth Research Institute)

Abstract

An increase in the number of people leaving metropolitan areas (MAs) was observed in various countries in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. While considerable attention has been paid to the impacts of health risks and teleworking, two prominent topics related to health-crisis-led migration, empirical evidence remains inadequate. This study aims to empirically investigate the impacts and temporal changes of these two factors on migration leaving MAs (LMA migration). It utilizes survey data from the Japanese government and employs fixed effects logit models. (1) By using infection rates in a more accurate measurement than previous studies, this study confirms the health-risk-aversion motives in LMA migration. (2) Teleworking’s influence on LMA migration is found to be insignificant over the long term. Nevertheless, it increases the likelihood of formal employees staying in MAs and strengthens the tendency of the self-employed to leave for local areas. (3) Temporally, the significant impact of lower COVID-19 infection rates attracting metropolitan residents persisted beyond the pandemic stringency and continued for several months afterward, though it eventually reversed. Teleworking shows a positive influence on LMA migration only in the later stage of COVID-19. These findings suggest a tendency of ‘deferred decisions’ in LMA migration due to people’s unfamiliarity with an unprecedented health crisis. However, the negative impact of infection risks emerges sooner than the significant effect of teleworking, indicating that safety is a pressing priority for LMA migration in the early stages of a major health crisis. (4) Self-employed individuals, homeworkers, and the unemployed are more likely to engage in LMA migration, while employees (whether formal or informal) are less likely, highlighting the role of opportunity costs. Policy implications suggest that local governments should focus on attracting the self-employed from MAs during health crises and on enhancing the teleworking environment for the long term.

Suggested Citation

  • Xue Peng, 2024. "Migration behaviors leaving metropolitan areas: assessing the impacts of health risks and teleworking in the COVID-19 context," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-03997-0
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-03997-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-024-03997-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-024-03997-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kyriaki Remoundou & Menelaos Gkartzios & Guy Garrod, 2016. "Conceptualizing Mobility in Times of Crisis: Towards Crisis-Led Counterurbanization?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(10), pages 1663-1674, October.
    2. Thomas John Cooke & Ian Shuttleworth, 2017. "Migration and the Internet," Migration Letters, Migration Letters, vol. 14(3), pages 331-342, September.
    3. McGranahan, David A., 1999. "Natural Amenities Drive Rural Population Change," Agricultural Economic Reports 33955, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Aude Bernard & Martin Bell, 2018. "Educational selectivity of internal migrants: A global assessment," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(29), pages 835-854.
    5. Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah & Louis Boakye-Yiadom & William Baah-Boateng, 2016. "Effect of education on migration decisions in Ghana: a rural-urban perspective," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(2), pages 336-356, May.
    6. Sunganani V. Kalemba & Aude Bernard & Jonathan Corcoran & Elin Charles-Edwards, 2022. "Has the decline in the intensity of internal migration been accompanied by changes in reasons for migration?," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 279-313, September.
    7. Dingde Xu & Chen Qing & Xin Deng & Zhuolin Yong & Wenfeng Zhou & Zhixing Ma, 2020. "Disaster Risk Perception, Sense of Pace, Evacuation Willingness, and Relocation Willingness of Rural Households in Earthquake-Stricken Areas: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-19, January.
    8. Piet Rietveld & Roger Vickerman, 2004. "Transport in regional science: The “death of distance” is premature," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Raymond J. G. M. Florax & David A. Plane (ed.), Fifty Years of Regional Science, pages 229-248, Springer.
    9. Ettema, Dick, 2010. "The impact of telecommuting on residential relocation and residential preferences: A latent class modelling approach," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 3(1), pages 7-24.
    10. Eveline S. van Leeuwen & Viktor A. Venhorst, 2021. "Do households prefer to move up or down the urban hierarchy during an economic crisis?," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 263-289, April.
    11. Greg Kaplan & Sam Schulhofer‐Wohl, 2017. "Understanding The Long‐Run Decline In Interstate Migration," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 58, pages 57-94, February.
    12. Carren Ginsburg & Philippe Bocquier & Donatien Beguy & Sulaimon Afolabi & Orvalho Augusto & Karim Derra & Frank Odhiambo & Mark Otiende & Abdramane B. Soura & Pascal Zabre & Michael White & Mark Colli, 2016. "Human capital on the move: Education as a determinant of internal migration in selected INDEPTH surveillance populations in Africa," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(30), pages 845-884.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shaun A. Golding & Richelle L. Winkler, 2020. "Tracking Urbanization and Exurbs: Migration Across the Rural–Urban Continuum, 1990–2016," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(5), pages 835-859, October.
    2. Sunganani V. Kalemba & Aude Bernard & Jonathan Corcoran & Elin Charles-Edwards, 2022. "Has the decline in the intensity of internal migration been accompanied by changes in reasons for migration?," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 279-313, September.
    3. Miguel González-Leonardo & Aude Bernard & Joan Garcia-Roman & Antonio López-Gay, 2022. "Educational selectivity of native and foreign-born internal migrants in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 47(34), pages 1033-1046.
    4. Eveline S. van Leeuwen & Viktor A. Venhorst, 2021. "Do households prefer to move up or down the urban hierarchy during an economic crisis?," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 263-289, April.
    5. Plantinga, Andrew J. & Détang-Dessendre, Cécile & Hunt, Gary L. & Piguet, Virginie, 2013. "Housing prices and inter-urban migration," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 296-306.
    6. repec:rri:wpaper:200711 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Luca Maria Pesando & Valentina Rotondi & Manuela Stranges & Ridhi Kashyap & Francesco C. Billari, 2021. "The Internetization of International Migration," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(1), pages 79-111, March.
    8. Mi Luo & Simon Mongey, 2019. "Assets and Job Choice: Student Debt, Wages and Amenities," NBER Working Papers 25801, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Tobias D. Ketterer, 2012. "Do Local Amenities Affect The Appeal Of Regions In Europe For Migrants?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 535-561, October.
    10. repec:rre:publsh:v:49:y:2019:i:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Lucie Schmidt & Paul N. Courant, 2006. "Sometimes Close Is Good Enough: The Value Of Nearby Environmental Amenities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 931-951, December.
    12. Kostas Rontos & Barbara Ermini & Luca Salvati, 2023. "Enlarging the divide? Per-Capita Income as a measure of social inequalities in a southern European City," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 345-361, February.
    13. Wilson, Joshua & Thilmany, Dawn D., 2005. "Exploring Spillover Effect of Public Investments in Conservation Programs onto Agritourism," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19189, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    14. Wojan, Timothy R. & McGranahan, David A., 2007. "Ambient Returns: Creative Capital's Contribution to Local Manufacturing Competitiveness," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 36(1), pages 1-16, April.
    15. John I. Carruthers & Gordon F. Mulligan, 2013. "Through the Crisis," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 27(2), pages 124-143, May.
    16. Longden, Thomas, 2016. "The Regularity and Irregularity of Travel: an Analysis of the Consistency of Travel Times Associated with Subsistence, Maintenance and Discretionary Activities," ET: Economic Theory 243150, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    17. Bandeira, Guilherme & Caballé, Jordi & Vella, Eugenia, 2022. "Emigration and fiscal austerity in a depression," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    18. Zachary T. Keeler & Heather M. Stephens, 2023. "What matters for lagging regions? The role of self‐employment and industrial diversity in distressed areas," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 962-1001, December.
    19. Jia He & Linmei Zhuang & Xin Deng & Dingde Xu, 2023. "Peer effects in disaster preparedness: whether opinion leaders make a difference," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 115(1), pages 187-213, January.
    20. Adrien Bilal & Esteban Rossi‐Hansberg, 2021. "Location as an Asset," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(5), pages 2459-2495, September.
    21. Elena G. Irwin & Andrew M. Isserman & Maureen Kilkenny & Mark D. Partridge, 2010. "A Century of Research on Rural Development and Regional Issues," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(2), pages 522-553.
    22. Aude Bernard & Martin Bell, 2018. "Internal migration and education: A cross-national comparison," Papers 1812.08913, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-03997-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.