Determinants of Migration, Revisited

Alexander, Gigi and Foley, Maggie (2014): Determinants of Migration, Revisited.

Abstract

This empirical study investigates the impact on net state in-migration over the 2000-2003 period of a variety of economic and non-economic factors and thereby serves as a robustness test of previous studies. The empirical estimates indicate that the net state in-migration rate was an increasing function of median family income or expected median family income on the one hand and a decreasing function of the average cost of living. In addition, net state in-migration was an increasing function of the warmer temperatures, while being a decreasing function of the presence of hazardous waste sites. Finally, net state in-migration was an increasing function of fiscal surplus (measured as per capita state plus local government spending on public education minus per capita state plus local government property taxation) and a decreasing function of the presence of state individual income taxation.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: net migration; state data; income; quality of life; fiscal surplus
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H71 - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H75 - State and Local Government: Health ; Education ; Welfare ; Public Pensions; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers > J61 - Geographic Labor Mobility ; Immigrant Workers; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q0 - General > Q00 - General; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R2 - Household Analysis > R23 - Regional Migration ; Regional Labor Markets ; Population ; Neighborhood Characteristics

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