IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/sur/surrec/1203.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Estimating the willingness to move within Great Britain: Importance and implications

Author

Listed:
  • Stephen Drinkwater

    (University of Surrey and WELMERC, University of Wales Swansea)

Abstract

The migration of labour is a mechanism through which local and regional labour market differentials can be reduced. It is likely that this mechanism will assume greater importance in the future so long as government assistance to deprived areas continues to decline, firms remain relatively immobile and European integration proceeds. However, Britons are thought to have relatively low migration rates, especially in comparison to their North American counterparts. Therefore in this paper, microdata are examined to establish the characteristics of individuals who are least willing to move and to compare the willingness to move of Britons with those of people from other countries. It is found that individuals from only a few other countries, including the US, are more willing to move within their own borders and that the willingness to move of Britons is higher than those of residents of several EU member states. Personal characteristics are found to be important determinants of the willingness to move, with the lowest educated the least willing and recent migrants the most willing to move. However, only small differences are found across spatial areas within Britain suggesting that there is not a great desire to move from the less prosperous parts of the country. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Drinkwater, 2003. "Estimating the willingness to move within Great Britain: Importance and implications," School of Economics Discussion Papers 1203, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    • Handle: RePEc:sur:surrec:1203
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.som.surrey.ac.uk/2003/DP12-03.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gavin Cameron & John Muellbauer, 1998. "The Housing Market and Regional Commuting and Migration Choices," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 45(4), pages 420-446, September.
    2. Michael C. Burda & Wolfgang Härdle & Marlene Müller & Axel Werwatz, 1998. "Semiparametric analysis of German East-West migration intentions: facts and theory," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(5), pages 525-541.
    3. McCormick, Barry, 1997. "Regional unemployment and labour mobility in the UK," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 581-589, April.
    4. Oswald Andrew J., 1996. "A Conjecture on the Explanation for High Unemployment in the Industrialized Nations : Part I," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 475, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    5. Ron Martin, 1997. "Regional Unemployment Disparities and their Dynamics," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 237-252.
    6. Larry A. Sjaastad, 1970. "The Costs and Returns of Human Migration," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Harry W. Richardson (ed.), Regional Economics, chapter 9, pages 115-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Rice, P., 2002. "The great divide: regional differences in education and training," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 0201, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    8. Jim Taylor & Colin Wren, 1997. "UK Regional Policy: An Evaluation," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(9), pages 835-848.
    9. George J. Borjas, 2021. "Does Immigration Grease the Wheels of the Labor Market?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 14, pages 431-484, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Olivier Jean Blanchard & Lawrence F. Katz, 1992. "Regional Evolutions," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 23(1), pages 1-76.
    11. Blackaby, D H & Murphy, P D, 1995. "Earnings, Unemployment and Britain's North-South Divide: Real or Imaginary?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(4), pages 487-512, November.
    12. repec:bla:scotjp:v:45:y:1998:i:4:p:420-46 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Pencavel, John, 1994. "British Unemployment: Letter from America," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(424), pages 621-632, May.
    14. Mincer, Jacob, 1978. "Family Migration Decisions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 749-773, October.
    15. Robert J. Barro & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 1991. "Convergence across States and Regions," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(1), pages 107-182.
    16. Blackaby, D H & Manning, D N, 1990. "The North-South Divide: Questions of Existence and Stability?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(401), pages 510-527, June.
    17. repec:bla:econom:v:66:y:1999:i:263:p:335-57 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Pissarides, Christopher A & McMaster, Ian, 1990. "Regional Migration, Wages and Unemployment: Empirical Evidence and Implications for Policy," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(4), pages 812-831, October.
    19. Cameron, Gavin & Muellbauer, John, 2000. "Earnings Biases in the United Kingdom Regional Accounts: Some Economic Policy and Research Implications," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(464), pages 412-429, June.
    20. Evans, Philip & McCormick, Barry, 1994. "The New Pattern of Regional Unemployment: Causes and Policy Significance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(424), pages 633-647, May.
    21. Gordon Hughes & Barry McCormick, 1991. "Housing Markets, Unemployment and Labour Market Flexibility in the U.K," NBER Chapters, in: International Volatility and Economic Growth: The First Ten Years of The International Seminar on Macroeconomics, pages 83-114, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Hughes, G A & McCormick, B, 1985. "Migration Intentions in the U.K.: Which Households Want to Migrate and Which Succeed?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 95(380a), pages 113-123, Supplemen.
    23. Henley, Andrew, 1998. "Residential Mobility, Housing Equity and the Labour Market," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(447), pages 414-427, March.
    24. Rice, P., 2002. "The great divide: regional differences in education and training," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 201, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    25. Pissarides, Christopher A & Wadsworth, Jonathan, 1989. "Unemployment and the Inter-regional Mobility of Labour," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 739-755, September.
    26. Schwartz, Aba, 1973. "Interpreting the Effect of Distance on Migration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(5), pages 1153-1169, Sept.-Oct.
    27. repec:bla:scotjp:v:49:y:2002:i:4:p:369-92 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Stephen Fothergill, 2001. "The True Scale of the Regional Problem in the UK," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 241-246.
    29. Xiushi Yang, 2000. "Determinants of Migration Intentions in Hubei Province, China: Individual versus Family Migration," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(5), pages 769-787, May.
    30. Webster, David, 2000. "The Geographical Concentration of Labour-Market Disadvantage," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 16(1), pages 114-128, Spring.
    31. Hughes, Gordon & McCormick, Barry, 1981. "Do Council Housing Policies Reduce Migration between Regions?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 91(364), pages 919-937, December.
    32. Faini, Riccardo & Galli, Giampaolo & Gennari, Pietro & Rossi, Fulvio, 1997. "An empirical puzzle: Falling migration and growing unemployment differentials among Italian regions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 571-579, April.
    33. Barro, Robert J & Sala-i-Martin, Xavier, 1992. "Convergence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(2), pages 223-251, April.
    34. Wren, Colin, 1996. "Grant Equivalent Expenditure on Industrial Subsidies in the Post-war United Kingdom," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 58(2), pages 317-353, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gil S. Epstein & Ira N. Gang, 2006. "The Influence of Others on Migration Plans," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 652-665, November.
    2. Heather Dickey, 2014. "The Impact Of Migration On Regional Wage Inequality: A Semiparametric Approach," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(5), pages 893-915, November.
    3. Peter Huber & Jan Fidrmuc, 2006. "Who Is Willing to Migrate in the CEECS? Evidence From the Czech Republic," ERSA conference papers ersa06p471, European Regional Science Association.
    4. Stephen Drinkwater & David Blackaby, 2004. "Migration and Labour Market Differences: The Case of Wales," School of Economics Discussion Papers 0604, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    5. Boman, Anders, 2012. "Employment effects of extended geographic scope in job search," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 643-652.
    6. Jan Fidrmuc & Peter Huber, 2007. "The willingness to migrate in the CEECs evidence from the Czech Republic," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 34(4), pages 351-369, September.

    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. Blackaby, David H. & Drinkwater, Stephen, 2004. "Migration and Labour Market Differences: The Case of Wales," IZA Discussion Papers 1275, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Birgitta Rabe & Mark P. Taylor, 2012. "Differences in Opportunities? Wage, Employment and House-Price Effects on Migration," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 74(6), pages 831-855, December.
    3. Martyn Andrews & Ken Clark & William Whittaker, 2011. "The determinants of regional migration in Great Britain: a duration approach," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 174(1), pages 127-153, January.
    4. Muellbauer, John & Murphy, Anthony & Cameron, Gavin, 2006. "Housing Market Dynamics and Regional Migration in Britain," CEPR Discussion Papers 5832, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Cameron, Gavin & Muellbauer, John & Murphy, Anthony, 2006. "Housing Market Dynamics and Regional Migration in Britain," CEPR Discussion Papers 5832, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Cameron, G. & Muellbauer, J., 1999. "Earnings, Unemployment, and Housing: Evidence from a Panel of British Regions," Economics Papers 1999-w7, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    7. Dohmen, Thomas J., 2005. "Housing, mobility and unemployment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 305-325, May.
    8. Angel de la Fuente, "undated". "La dinámica territorial de la población española: Un panorama y algunos resultados provisionales," Studies on the Spanish Economy 05, FEDEA.
    9. Aida Caldera Sánchez & Dan Andrews, 2011. "To Move or not to Move: What Drives Residential Mobility Rates in the OECD?," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 846, OECD Publishing.
    10. Paul Gregg & Stephen Machin & Alan Manning, 2004. "Mobility and Joblessness," NBER Chapters, in: Seeking a Premier Economy: The Economic Effects of British Economic Reforms, 1980–2000, pages 371-410, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Jim Millington, 2000. "Migration and Age: The Effect of Age on Sensitivity to Migration Stimuli," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(6), pages 521-533.
    12. David Gray, 2004. "Persistent Regional Unemployment Differentials Revisited," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2), pages 167-176.
    13. Gavin Cameron & John Muellbauer, 2001. "Earnings, unemployment, and housing in Britain," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 203-220.
    14. McCormick, Barry, 1997. "Regional unemployment and labour mobility in the UK," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 581-589, April.
    15. David C Maré & Wai Kin Choy, 2001. "Regional Labour Market Adjustment and the Movements of People: A Review," Treasury Working Paper Series 01/08, New Zealand Treasury.
    16. Gary Engelhardt, 2001. "Nominal Loss Aversion, Housing Equity Constraints, and Household Mobility: Evidence from the United States," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 42, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    17. Inmaculada Garcia-Mainar & Victor Montuenga-Gomez, 2003. "The Spanish Wage Curve: 1994-1996," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(9), pages 929-945.
    18. Kari Hämäläinen & Petri Böckerman, 2004. "Regional Labor Market Dynamics, Housing, and Migration," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 543-568, August.
    19. Jennifer Hunt, 2004. "Are migrants more skilled than non-migrants? Repeat, return, and same-employer migrants," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 37(4), pages 830-849, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration; Local and regional labour markets.;

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    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:sur:surrec:1203. 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: Ioannis Lazopoulos (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/desuruk.html .

    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.