Intergenerational Transmission of Internal Migration Behaviour: Does Migration Experience in Childhood Matter?

This chapter examines the impact of childhood internal migration experience on migration behaviour in adulthood, considering the frequency and timing of migrations and the distance moved. This is achieved by drawing on retrospective migration histories from birth to age 50 collected in 27 European countries as part of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Descriptive statistics and survival analysis suggest a continuity of migration behaviour from childhood to early adulthood: the higher the number of childhood and adolescence migrations, the earlier the first adult migration, which increases the likelihood of transitioning to the second adult migration. This in turn explains the positive association between the number of childhood migrations and the number of migrations in adulthood. In most case study countries, the number of childhood migrations contributes cumulatively to increasing the number of migrations in adulthood. However, the first migration in childhood is paramount: having migrated at least once and being exposed to the challenges and benefits of migrating early in life facilitate subsequent migrations. Drawing on the psychological and sociological literatures, the chapter goes on to propose three mechanisms that explain how the development of migration behaviour in childhood is then acted out in adulthood. It argues that internal migration behaviour is developed in childhood through (1) parent-child transmission of attitudes toward migration, (2) the progressive acquisition of skills that facilitate migration and (3) the development of migration networks. The chapter concludes by discussing how these processes combine and interact to alter the perceived monetary and non-monetary costs and benefits of migration, and thus increase the odds of migrating in adulthood.