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The effect of local ties, wages, and housing costs on migration decisions

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  • Michaelides, Marios

Abstract

Previous research on migration has focused more on the effect of wage differences between the destination and the origin on migration and less on how non-pecuniary attachments workers have to their current location may affect their migration decisions. In this paper, we examine how the presence of a strong social network and desirable location characteristics in the current location may deter individual migration across U.S. metropolitan areas. Our empirical results show that, controlling for wage and housing cost differences between metropolitan areas, workers with strong attachments to their current location are significantly less likely to move. Interestingly, the effects of a strong social network and desirable location characteristics on individual migration decisions are more important than the effect of wage or housing cost differentials between the destination and the origin.

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  • Michaelides, Marios, 2011. "The effect of local ties, wages, and housing costs on migration decisions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 132-140, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:40:y:2011:i:2:p:132-140
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    1. Jonne A. K. Thomassen & Isabel Palomares-Linares & Viktor A. Venhorst & Clara H. Mulder, 2023. "Local Ties as Self-Reported Constraints to Internal Migration in Spain," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-37, December.
    2. Antoine Bonleu, 2017. "Sun, Regulation and Local Social Networks," Working Papers halshs-01502604, HAL.
    3. John Sibley Butler & Rajiv Garg & Bryan Stephens, 2020. "Social Networks, Funding, and Regional Advantages in Technology Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Analysis," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(1), pages 198-216, March.
    4. Virág Ilyés & István Boza & László Lőrincz & Rikard H Eriksson, 2023. "How to enter high-opportunity places? The role of social contacts for residential mobility," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(2), pages 371-395.
    5. László Lőrincz & Brigitta Németh, 2022. "How Social Capital is Related to Migration Between Communities?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1119-1143, December.
    6. Switek, Maggie, 2012. "Internal Migration and Life Satisfaction: Well-Being Effects of Moving as a Young Adult," IZA Discussion Papers 7016, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Stephens, Bryan & Butler, John Sibley & Garg, Rajiv & Gibson, David V., 2019. "Austin, Boston, Silicon Valley, and New York: Case studies in the location choices of entrepreneurs in maintaining the Technopolis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 267-280.
    8. Ho, Hui-Ping & Chang, Ching-Ter & Ku, Cheng-Yuan, 2015. "House selection via the internet by considering homebuyers’ risk attitudes with S-shaped utility functions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 241(1), pages 188-201.
    9. Liqiu Zhao & Xianguo Yao, 2017. "Does local social capital deter labour migration? Evidence from rural China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(43), pages 4363-4377, September.
    10. Julie L. Hotchkiss & Anil Rupasingha, 2021. "Individual social capital and migration," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 808-837, June.
    11. Clara H Mulder & Gunnar Malmberg, 2014. "Local Ties and Family Migration," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(9), pages 2195-2211, September.
    12. Clara H. Mulder & Emma Lundholm & Gunnar Malmberg, 2020. "Young Adults’ Migration to Cities in Sweden: Do Siblings Pave the Way?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(6), pages 2221-2244, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration Worker mobility Mobility costs Location amenities Wages Housing costs;

    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • R3 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis

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