The aim of the thesis is to describe, analyse and discuss the development of spatial population dynamics in the Czech Republic between 1989 and 2007. Demographic structure and migration, the two components of spatial population dynamics, are analysed using two spatial dimensions, the urban-suburban-rural gradient and the core-periphery region distinction, using quantitative analyses, including gravity regression modelling of migration. The analysis primarily focuses on domestic migration as the main vehicle of spatial population dynamics. It discusses the structure, determinants, and temporal evolution of migration and its consequences on the population structure in different spatial categories. The thesis indicates that suburbanisation has recently become the main factor influencing Czech spatial population dynamics. The key factor determining migration destination is the social status of migrants, whereas age has only secondary importance. However, since Czechs are not very mobile, population dispersal is less large-scale than in Western-Europe. This explains why recent domestic migration patterns have had only a small measurable influence on the social or demographic structures of the population across spatial categories.

In the present dissertation, we study the United States’ domestic trade and domesticmigration with special focus on Politics, Foreign Import and Size. This study sheds light on the literature of International Economics, Regional Economics, and Development Economics. In Chapter 1, using a Gravity model for trade between the U.S. states and employing CFS data of the year 1993 - 2017, we find that politically and economically similar states trade more among themselves. We use three different definitions of political similarity based on election outcomes, and they all give similar results. For economic similarities, we follow the literature on Linder’s hypothesis. In Chapter 2, by using the same CFS data and Gravity model which we have used in Chapter 1, we analyze the impact of foreign imports by the States on their domestic exports. We find fairly strong support for our hypothesis that foreign imports promote domestic exports. We carry out a series of robustness checks, and the qualitative results remain the same. Chapter 3 investigates the impact of size on the U.S. inter-state migration over the period of 1998-2017 employing structural gravity model of migration. We use population, GDP and Land area as a proxy to measure the size of the states. We find that people are moving from big states to small states. We find that the American’s are moving from big states to small states. We also find that increase in income tax as a proportion of population in U.S. states, positively affect the interstate migration in the origin state but negatively affect the destination state.

L'objectif central de la thèse est de décrire, analyser et discuter la dynamique spatiale de la population tchèque entre 1989 et 2007. La structure démographique et les migrations, les deux composantes de cette dynamique spatiale, sont analysées par le biais de deux articulations de l’espace : le gradient urbain-périurbain-rural et la distinction régionale centre-périphérie. Des outils quantitatifs sont utilisés, avec en particulier un modèle gravitaire explicatif des migrations. L’orientation principale de l´analyse repose sur les migrations internes, comme étant l’agent majeur de la dynamique spatiale de la population. La structure, les déterminants, et l’évolution dans le temps de ces migrations sont étudiés, ainsi que leurs conséquences sur la structure démographique des ensembles spatiaux. La thèse indique que le processus de périurbanisation est récemment devenu un facteur majeur, influençant la dynamique spatiale de la population tchèque. Il est également établit que le facteur explicatif clé de la destination des migrations est le statut social du migrant, tandis que son âge ne présente qu’une importance secondaire. Cependant, étant donné que les Tchèques sont généralement peu mobiles, la déconcentration de la population s’opère à une échelle plus modeste que dans les pays d’Europe de l´Ouest. Cette constatation permet d’expliquer en quoi les tendances récentes des migrations résidentielles ont un impact mesuré relativement faible sur les structures sociales et démographiques de la population dans les catégories d´espace. / The aim of the thesis is to describe, analyse and discuss the development of spatial population dynamics in the Czech Republic between 1989 and 2007. Demographic structure and migration, the two components of spatial population dynamics, are analysed using two spatial dimensions, the urban-suburban-rural gradient and the core-periphery region distinction, using quantitative analyses, including gravity regression modelling of migration. The analysis primarily focuses on domestic migration as the main vehicle of spatial population dynamics. It discusses the structure, determinants, and temporal evolution of migration and its consequences on the population structure in different spatial categories. The thesis indicates that suburbanisation has recently become the main factor influencing Czech spatial population dynamics. The key factor determining migration destination is the social status of migrants, whereas age has only secondary importance. However, since Czechs are not very mobile, population dispersal is less large-scale than in Western-Europe. This explains why recent domestic migration patterns have had only a small measurable influence on the social or demographic structures of the population across spatial categories. / Cílem této disertační práce je popsat, analyzovat a diskutovat vývoj prostorové dynamiky obyvatel v České republice mezi lety 1989 a 2007. Demografická struktura a migrace, dvě komponenty prostorové dynamiky obyvatel, jsou analyzovány ve dvou prostorových dimenzích, v gradientu město-suburbium-venkov a v regionálním rozlišení jádrových a periferních regionů, prostřednictvím kvantitativní analýzy, včetně gravitačního regresního modelu migrace. Analýza se zaměřuje především na vnitřní migraci jako hlavního hybatele prostorové dynamiky obyvatel. Zabývá se strukturou, determinanty migrace a jejím vývojem v čase a také jejími dopady na strukturu obyvatel v jednotlivých prostorových kategoriích. V disertaci je ukázáno, že suburbanizace se v poslední době stala nejdůležitějším faktorem ovlivňujícím prostorovou dynamiku obyvatel v České republice. Hlavním faktorem určujícím směr migrace je sociální status migrantů, zatímco jejich věk má pouze druhořadý význam. Nicméně, tím, že Češi nejsou příliš migračně aktivní, populační dekoncentrace dosahuje menších rozměrů a objemů než v západoevropských zemích. To vysvětluje, proč novodobé migrační trendy měly zatím jen malý měřitelný dopad na sociální a demografické struktury obyvatel jednotlivých prostorových kategorií.

The dissertation project Roma on the Czech countryside: Determinants of exclusion, potentials for inclusion deals with the situation of Roma in Czech rural municipalities. The starting motivation for the author's exploration of this topic has been information about the growing number of segregated localities in rural areas. In the local public discourses within the peripheral areas, this phenomenon has often been explained as the consequence of poverty-driven urban-rural migration. However, as the migration of socially excluded populations into disadvantaged areas stirs a lot of fears and negative emotions that provide a fertile ground for the spread of rumours, the author's preparatory research soon revealed that it is necessary to carefully distinguish between myths and reality. The author's desire to understand the complex processes behind the emergence of new Roma localities in rural areas required a combination of working methods: The author analysed the national policy and regulatory framework and realized empirical research in five micro-regions in different parts of the Czech Republic. In addition to this, data were gained through the realization of a country-wide survey with two different sets of questionnaires, which targeted rural municipalities with socially excluded localities and urban social...