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The Migration of Technical Workers

In: Cities and Entrepreneurship

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  • Michael S. Dahl
  • Olav Sorenson

Abstract

Using panel data on the Danish population, we estimated the revealed preferences of scientists and engineers for the places in which they choose to work. Our results indicate that these technical workers exhibit substantial sensitivity to differences in wages but that they have even stronger preferences for living close to family and friends. The magnitude of these preferences, moreover, suggests that the greater geographic mobility of scientists and engineers, relative to the population as a whole, stems from more pronounced variation across regions in the wages that they can expect. These results remain robust to estimation on a sample of individuals who must select new places of work for reasons unrelated to their preferences--those who had been employed at establishments that discontinued operations.
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Suggested Citation

  • Michael S. Dahl & Olav Sorenson, 2010. "The Migration of Technical Workers," NBER Chapters, in: Cities and Entrepreneurship, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:11894
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

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

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