IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/cesisp/0476.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Mover Stayer Winner Loser - A study of income effects from rural migration

Author

Listed:
  • Bjerke, Lina

    (Jönköping International Business School)

  • Mellander, Charlotta

    (Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University & Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS))

Abstract

The accepted rural-urban migration theory suggests that economic gains are made by moving from a rural to an urban area. Its premise is: “If you stay, you lose.” However, are losses still the rule? And, if so, how big is the economic loss once other factors are controlled for? In this paper, we specifically focus on the income effects of migration decisions among young individuals from rural areas, using microdata for Sweden. We find that, contrary to accepted theory, staying in a rural region most often is insignificant in relation to an individual’s income level. When taking housing values into account, it can even be financially beneficial for some to stay in a rural area. Only for highly educated individuals is it consistently financially beneficial to move to an urban area, also after controlling for housing costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Bjerke, Lina & Mellander, Charlotta, 2019. "Mover Stayer Winner Loser - A study of income effects from rural migration," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 476, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0476
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://static.sys.kth.se/itm/wp/cesis/cesiswp476.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charlie Karlsson & Börje Johansson & Kiyoshi Kobayashi & Roger R. Stough (ed.), 2014. "Knowledge, Innovation and Space," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13819.
    2. Ejdemo, Thomas & Söderholm, Patrik, 2011. "Mining investment and regional development: A scenario-based assessment for Northern Sweden," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 14-21, March.
    3. Gary S. Becker, 1962. "Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: Investment in Human Beings, pages 9-49, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Alessandra Faggian & Philip McCann & Stephen Sheppard, 2007. "Some Evidence That Women Are More Mobile Than Men: Gender Differences In U.K. Graduate Migration Behavior," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 517-539, August.
    5. 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.
    6. Martin Andersson & Charlie Karlsson, 2007. "Knowledge in Regional Economic Growth—The Role of Knowledge Accessibility," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 129-149.
    7. Roback, Jennifer, 1982. "Wages, Rents, and the Quality of Life," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(6), pages 1257-1278, December.
    8. Edward L. Glaeser & Janet E. Kohlhase, 2004. "Cities, regions and the decline of transport costs," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Raymond J. G. M. Florax & David A. Plane (ed.), Fifty Years of Regional Science, pages 197-228, Springer.
    9. Bover, Olympia & Muellbauer, John & Murphy, Anthony, 1989. "Housing, Wages and UK Labour Markets," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 51(2), pages 97-136, March.
    10. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2004. "Micro-foundations of urban agglomeration economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 48, pages 2063-2117, Elsevier.
    11. Mark D. Partridge & Kamar Ali & M. Rose Olfert, 2010. "Rural‐to‐Urban Commuting: Three Degrees of Integration," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 303-335, June.
    12. Douglas Gollin & Remi Jedwab & Dietrich Vollrath, 2016. "Urbanization with and without industrialization," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 35-70, March.
    13. Joseph Gyourko & Christopher Mayer & Todd Sinai, 2013. "Superstar Cities," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 167-199, November.
    14. David Mcgranahan & Timothy Wojan, 2007. "Recasting the Creative Class to Examine Growth Processes in Rural and Urban Counties," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 197-216.
    15. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Callum Wilkie, 2019. "Innovating in less developed regions: What drives patenting in the lagging regions of Europe and North America," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 4-37, March.
    16. Mincer, Jacob, 1978. "Family Migration Decisions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 749-773, October.
    17. Yankow, Jeffrey J., 2006. "Why do cities pay more? An empirical examination of some competing theories of the urban wage premium," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 139-161, September.
    18. Rosen, Sherwin, 1983. "Specialization and Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 43-49, January.
    19. Robert H. Topel & Michael P. Ward, 1992. "Job Mobility and the Careers of Young Men," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 439-479.
    20. Alessandra Faggian & Philip Mccann, 2009. "Universities, Agglomerations And Graduate Human Capital Mobility," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 100(2), pages 210-223, April.
    21. Andrei Rogers, 1988. "Age patterns of elderly migration: An international comparison," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 25(3), pages 355-370, August.
    22. Börje Johansson & Johan Klaesson & Michael Olsson, 2002. "Time distances and labor market integration," Papers in Regional Science, Springer;Regional Science Association International, vol. 81(3), pages 305-327.
    23. Glaeser, Edward L & Mare, David C, 2001. "Cities and Skills," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(2), pages 316-342, April.
    24. Karlsson, Charlie & Johansson, Börje & Kobayashi, Kiyoshi & Stough, Roger R., 2014. "Knowledge, innovation and space," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 367, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    25. Olof Åslund & Lena Hensvik & Oskar Nordström Skans, 2014. "Seeking Similarity: How Immigrants and Natives Manage in the Labor Market," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(3), pages 405-441.
    26. Unger, Jens M. & Rauch, Andreas & Frese, Michael & Rosenbusch, Nina, 2011. "Human capital and entrepreneurial success: A meta-analytical review," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 341-358, May.
    27. DaVanzo, Julie, 1983. "Repeat Migration in the United States: Who Moves Back and Who Moves On?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 552-559, November.
    28. Mikaela Backman & Lina Bjerke, 2014. "Returns to higher education: a regional perspective," Chapters, in: Charlie Karlsson & Börje Johansson & Kiyoshi Kobayashi & Roger R. Stough (ed.), Knowledge, Innovation and Space, chapter 10, pages 237-264, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    29. Lena Edlund & Cecilia Machado & Maria Micaela Sviatschi, 2015. "Gentrification and the Rising Returns to Skill," NBER Working Papers 21729, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    30. James Albrecht & Anders Bjorklund & Susan Vroman, 2003. "Is There a Glass Ceiling in Sweden?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 145-177, January.
    31. Edward L. Glaeser, 2014. "A World Of Cities: The Causes And Consequences Of Urbanization In Poorer Countries," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(5), pages 1154-1199, October.
    32. Edlund, Lena & Machado, Cecilia & Sviatschi, Maria, 2015. "Bright Minds, Big Rent: Gentrification and the Rising Returns to Skill," IZA Discussion Papers 9502, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    33. Høgni Kalsø Hansen & Thomas Niedomysl, 2009. "Migration of the creative class: evidence from Sweden," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 191-206, March.
    34. Graves, Philip E. & Linneman, Peter D., 1979. "Household migration: Theoretical and empirical results," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 383-404, July.
    35. McCann, Philip, 2013. "Modern Urban and Regional Economics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780199582006.
    36. Alessandra Faggian & Philip McCann & Stephen Sheppard, 2007. "Human Capital, Higher Education and Graduate Migration: An Analysis of Scottish and Welsh Students," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(13), pages 2511-2528, December.
    37. Jedwab, Remi & Christiaensen, Luc & Gindelsky, Marina, 2017. "Demography, urbanization and development: Rural push, urban pull and…urban push?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 6-16.
    38. Robert E. Lucas, Jr., 2004. "Life Earnings and Rural-Urban Migration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(S1), pages 29-59, February.
    39. Börje Johansson & Johan Klaesson & Michael Olsson, 2003. "Commuters’ non-linear response to time distances," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 315-329, November.
    40. Michael Storper & Allen J. Scott, 2009. "Rethinking human capital, creativity and urban growth," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 147-167, March.
    41. Edlund, Lena & Machado, Cecilia & Sviatschi, Maria, 2015. "Bright Minds, Big Rent: Gentrification and the Rising Returns to Skill," IZA Discussion Papers 9502, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    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. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Michael Storper, 2020. "Housing, urban growth and inequalities: The limits to deregulation and upzoning in reducing economic and spatial inequality," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(2), pages 223-248, February.
    2. 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.

    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. Lina Bjerke & Charlotta Mellander, 2017. "Moving home again? Never! The locational choices of graduates in Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 59(3), pages 707-729, November.
    2. J. Vernon Henderson & Sebastian Kriticos, 2018. "The Development of the African System of Cities," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 287-314, August.
    3. Martin Andersson & Per Thulin, 2013. "Does spatial employment density spur inter-firm job switching?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(1), pages 245-272, August.
    4. W. Mark Brown & Darren M. Scott, 2012. "Human Capital Location Choice: Accounting For Amenities And Thick Labor Markets," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 787-808, December.
    5. Backman, Mikaela, 2013. "Regional Variation of Returns to Education," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 300, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    6. Charlotta Mellander & Richard Florida & Kevin Stolarick, 2011. "Here to Stay—The Effects of Community Satisfaction on the Decision to Stay," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 5-24.
    7. Reinhard A. Weisser, 2019. "The price of mobility," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 39(1), pages 25-64, February.
    8. repec:elg:eechap:14395_22 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Ida Lovén & Cecilia Hammarlund & Martin Nordin, 2020. "Staying or leaving? The effects of university availability on educational choices and rural depopulation," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(5), pages 1339-1365, October.
    10. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2014. "The Growth of Cities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 5, pages 781-853, Elsevier.
    11. Öner, Özge, 2013. "RETURNS TO LOCATION IN RETAIL: Investigating the relevance of market size and regional hierarchy," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 336, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    12. Suhonen, Tuomo, 2013. "Are there returns from university location in a state-funded university system?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 465-478.
    13. Mark D. Partridge & M. Rose Olfert, 2011. "The Winners' Choice: Sustainable Economic Strategies for Successful 21st-Century Regions," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 33(2), pages 143-178.
    14. Victor Couture & Jessie Handbury, 2017. "Urban Revival in America, 2000 to 2010," NBER Working Papers 24084, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Mark D. Partridge, 2010. "The duelling models: NEG vs amenity migration in explaining US engines of growth," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(3), pages 513-536, August.
    16. Mikaela Backman & Pia Nilsson, 2018. "The role of cultural heritage in attracting skilled individuals," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 42(1), pages 111-138, February.
    17. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Vassilis Tselios, 2010. "Returns to migration, education and externalities in the European Union," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(2), pages 411-434, June.
    18. Douglas J. Krupka & Kwame N. Donaldson, 2013. "Wages, Rents, And Heterogeneous Moving Costs," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 844-864, January.
    19. Douglas J. Krupka, 2009. "Location‐Specific Human Capital, Location Choice And Amenity Demand," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 833-854, December.
    20. Margaret Olfert & Mark Partridge, 2011. "Creating the Cultural Community: Ethnic Diversity vs. Agglomeration," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 25-55.
    21. Alessandra Faggian & Mark Partridge & Edward J. Malecki, 2017. "Creating an Environment for Economic Growth: Creativity, Entrepreneurship or Human Capital?," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 997-1009, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    rural-urban youth migration; income; mover; stayer;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • P25 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:hhs:cesisp:0476. 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: Vardan Hovsepyan (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cekthse.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.
    pFad - Phonifier reborn

    Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

    Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


    Alternative Proxies:

    Alternative Proxy

    pFad Proxy

    pFad v3 Proxy

    pFad v4 Proxy