The Effect of Expected Income on Individual Migration Decisions / John Kennan, James R. Walker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kennan, John.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Walker, James R.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w9585.

NBER working paper series no. w9585

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2003.

Summary:

The paper develops a tractable econometric model of optimal migration, focusing on expected income as the main economic influence on migration. The model improves on previous work in two respects: it covers optimal sequences of location decisions (rather than a single once-for-all choice), and it allows for many alternative location choices. The model is estimated using panel data from the NLSY on white males with a high school education. Our main conclusion is that interstate migration decisions are influenced to a substantial extent by income prospects. The results suggest that the link between income and migration decisions is driven both by geographic differences in mean wages and by a tendency to move in search of a better locational match when the income realization in the current location is unfavorable.

Notes:

Print version record

March 2003.