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The subject of this thesis is migrants’ motives and the outcomes of interregional migration, as well as how the propensity for interregional migration has changed for different groups over the past three decades. The background consists of a discussion on the role of the labour market in long-distance migration decisions and a discussion on how social and economic change affect the context in which migration decisions are made. The thesis consists of four empirical studies presented in four separate papers. The studies derive from two sources of data. Papers I and II are based on a Nordic survey, while Papers III and IV draw from Swedish population register data. Paper I focuses on migrants’ perceptions of the migration decision, motives, voluntariness, attitudes and values, based on a survey. The conclusion of this paper is that employment is by no means a dominating motive from the migrant’s perspective. Additionally, very few migrants explicitly express a sense of being forced to migrate against their will. Paper II is also based on the survey and examines the migrants’ perceptions of the outcome of migration in economic and non-economic terms. This paper further supports the view that employment and income gain are in most cases subordinate in the migration decision from the individual migrants’ point of view. Paper III is a register study comparing the composition of interregional migrants in Sweden during the period 1970-2001. In this study, it becomes evident that the increase in migration rates in the 1990’s was an effect of increased migration among young people. Compared to 1970, increasingly more people migrated during a time in life when they were not yet established on the labour market and had no family. Paper IV is also a register study comparing the effect of commuting potential on migration propensity in Sweden during the period 1970-2001. This paper concludes that increased commuting should be interpreted as a result of, rather than an explanation for, long-distance migration reluctance. Migration literature suggests that long-distance migration is primarily labour-market induced. This is evident in the sense that long-distance migration requires a new job in a new locality for those who are in the labour force, but this study show that this does not necessarily mean that employment is the main motive in the migrant’s mind; the trigger is usually something else, often related to social relationships. The pattern of interregional migration has changed over time. Compared to the 1970’s, more people now migrate at a time when they are not established on the labour market, and other considerations besides employment are thus more relevant. An important explanation for the current immobility among families and employed persons is attributed to the increase in dual-career households during the period studied. This has changed the aggregated migration behaviour everywhere, regardless of commuting potential, but enhanced constraints for interregional migration in this group could be seen as an explanation for the observed increase in commuting.

The diploma thesis deals with migration of human population in the Czech Republic, with a focus on position of the capital city of Prague in the process. The thesis concerns on migration trends among regions of the Czech Republic, and deals with the process of suburbanization within the specific relationship between Prague and districts of the Central Bohemian Region. The subject of my diploma is also internal and external migration of foreigners as a more significant phenomenon in czech society, with the emphasis on Prague as well. The thesis includes evaluation of the basic structural characteristics of inmigrants and outmigrants (migration by age, sex, educational attainment) and also examination of reasons of migration in the area and its consequences with expectations about future trends. There are common used, relative indicators of migration in the thesis. The analysis was carried out in 1994--2007, in some cases in shorter period.

<p>The thesis includes six self-contained papers that from various perspectives examine place attractiveness and migration in Sweden. </p><p>Paper I provides an extensive overview of Swedish municipalities’ place marketing engagement to attract in-migrants, based on survey responses from 220 municipalities. The results suggest that, although this kind of marketing has become more prominent during the last few years, there is little evidence of any significant effects on migration flows. </p><p>Paper II addresses place marketing campaigns directed towards the Stockholm region carried out by rural municipalities. The results show no general evidence of success, but in a few cases a positive impact of these campaigns cannot be ruled out conclusively.</p><p>Paper III explores the effect of tourism on interregional net-migration in Sweden. The results indicate that tourism exerts a positive influence on migration, and it is shown how its effects vary depending on age group. </p><p>Paper IV scrutinizes recent survey research on migration motives in the Nordic countries. This paper employs a different questionnaire design and surveys a somewhat different migrant population. The findings do not support recent research and the importance of employment-related motives is emphasised. </p><p>Paper V focuses on residential preferences and explores what place attributes people would consider important if they were to migrate. Special attention is given to demographic, socio-economic and geographical determinants. The results show how these aspects influence residential preferences, and make some contributions to methodological issues on researching preferences. </p><p>Paper VI aims at a conceptual framework whereby place attractiveness can be better understood. It is suggested that needs, demands and preferences are central factors and the attractiveness of places increases with the successive fulfilment of these factors. But the more factors a migrant seeks to fulfil in his or her destination selection, the fewer the choice possibilities.</p>

The thesis includes six self-contained papers that from various perspectives examine place attractiveness and migration in Sweden. Paper I provides an extensive overview of Swedish municipalities’ place marketing engagement to attract in-migrants, based on survey responses from 220 municipalities. The results suggest that, although this kind of marketing has become more prominent during the last few years, there is little evidence of any significant effects on migration flows. Paper II addresses place marketing campaigns directed towards the Stockholm region carried out by rural municipalities. The results show no general evidence of success, but in a few cases a positive impact of these campaigns cannot be ruled out conclusively. Paper III explores the effect of tourism on interregional net-migration in Sweden. The results indicate that tourism exerts a positive influence on migration, and it is shown how its effects vary depending on age group. Paper IV scrutinizes recent survey research on migration motives in the Nordic countries. This paper employs a different questionnaire design and surveys a somewhat different migrant population. The findings do not support recent research and the importance of employment-related motives is emphasised. Paper V focuses on residential preferences and explores what place attributes people would consider important if they were to migrate. Special attention is given to demographic, socio-economic and geographical determinants. The results show how these aspects influence residential preferences, and make some contributions to methodological issues on researching preferences. Paper VI aims at a conceptual framework whereby place attractiveness can be better understood. It is suggested that needs, demands and preferences are central factors and the attractiveness of places increases with the successive fulfilment of these factors. But the more factors a migrant seeks to fulfil in his or her destination selection, the fewer the choice possibilities.

Paper [I]- Household Migration and the Local Public Sector: Evidence from Sweden, 1981-1984 (co-authored with Michael L. Wyzan), contains an empirical explo­ration of the nexus between variables related to the local public sector budget and migration. Micro-data is employed in binomial and multinomial-logit regressions esti­mating the probability to migrate. We report results separately for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, because the per capita levels of the tax base and intergovernmen­tal grants are theoretically important migration determinants where population is sparse, while the tax rate may be more important where population is dense. Empirical results support our fiscal hypotheses and are consistent with previous findings on household characteristics. Paper [II]- Internal Gross Migration in Sweden: The effects of Variation in Mobility Grants and Regional Labour Market Conditions, focuses on the effects of labor market conditions and migratory stimuli on over county-border migration. Aggregate data on the flows of all migrants and on the flows of migrants receiving extra mobility stimuli are used in estimations of a single-equation migration model based on the hiring function. The results indicate that regional migration flows respond to changes in labor market conditions in accordance with predictions from economic theory. This result seems mainly to stem from the migratory behavior of the unemployed. In addition, nonmatching migration subsidies at the levels employed are not found to be migration enhancing. Paper [IH]- Employment Opportunities, Wages and Interregional Migration in Sweden 1970-1989, deals with the impact of aggregate labor turnover and regional labor market conditions on gross in- and outmigration. Annual panel data is used in estima­tion of separate in- and outmigration functions, where regional labor market conditions are assumed to be endogenous with migration under two different assumptions concer­ning the working of the labor market. An increase in the regional excess supply of labor is found to increase outmigration and decrease inmigration. Moreover, cyclical variation in labor turnover is positively correlated with gross migration. The hypothesized effects of real wages on migration are not confirmed. The results are not sensitive to the various assumptions concerning regional wage formation considered in this study. Paper [IV]- A Panel Study of Migration, Household Real Earnings and Self-Selec- tion (co-authored with Roger Axelsson). The effects of migration on household real earnings are examined. Data pertain to a sample of stable household constellations in Sweden, 1978-1991. A treatment-effect model is employed, whereby the potential effects of nonrandom sampling of data on earnings for migrants and nonmigrants are taken into account. We find that stable multi-adult household constellations did not gain in income from migration during the 1980s. In addition, we find no strong indications of selection bias in the income equation. / digitalisering@umu

This thesis consists of an introductory part and four papers. Paper [I] estimates jointly the choice of whether to enroll in education and the choice of location among young people. Being a particularly mobile group, the location choices of young individuals shape much of the regional distribution of human capital, growth, and local public sector budgets. Applying Swedish register data on nest leavers, we seek to determine factors deciding the education and location choice of young people. The results indicate a systematic selection higher education based on school grades and preferences for locations with higher per capita tax bases and with lower shares of elderly people. The importance of family networks for the choice of location is confirmed.              Paper [II] examines how individual ability, reflected by the grade point average (GPA) from comprehensive school affects the probability of migration among university graduates. The econometric analysis applies detailed micro-data of two entire cohorts of young individuals retrieved from the Swedish population registers. The results indicate that individual abilities are strongly influential both concerning completion of a university degree and for the migration decision. In addition, we find a positive relationship between the GPA and migrating from regions with lower per capita tax bases and/or a relatively small share of highly educated individuals. Analogously, individuals with a high GPA tend to stay in more densely populated regions, suggesting a clustering of human capital vis-à-vis school grades.  Paper [III] estimates the relationship between migration across labour market regions and the subsequent changes in earnings by using the GPA from the final year of comprehensive school as a proxy for ability. This measure aims to capture heterogeneity in the returns to migration for individuals conditional on education attainment. Using Swedish register data on young adults, a difference-in-difference propensity score matching estimator is applied to estimate income differences measured up to seven years after migration. The results show variation between different ability groups regarding the returns to regional migration. There are indications of larger gains for individuals holding top grades, while the bottom half seems to benefit less, or face slightly negative effects. Paper [IV] examines whether power couple formation and the location choice of such couples are driven by factors already inherent in young people during their formative school years. The paper also extends the analysis by modeling location choice among different sizes of labor market areas, given different power statuses of the couples. Based on analysis of Swedish register data, we produce evidence that power spouses evolve from the population of high achieving school age individuals; the latter is identified by high academic performance during their years of compulsory school. Regarding location choice, the results indicate that power couples display a relatively high tendency to migrate from their regions of origin to large cities.

The Swedish model is perceived as a successful framework for combining rapid labor market adjustment with low inequality. Formulated by Gösta Rehn and Rudolf Meidner and implemented from the 1950s, it has been associated with the peak in economic restructuring and interregional migration during the 1960s. However, there is little empirical evidence for this. This thesis consists of an introduction and four essays. It explores three aspects of the model from a long-run perspective: interregional migration, wage dispersion and labor market policy. Essay I uses new data to track interregional migration rates in the postwar period (1945-1985). The results show that the responsiveness of interregional migration to local labor market conditions remained stable over time; it was neither higher during the 1960s nor lower when migration declined after 1970. Essay II employs a regression-decomposition framework to analyze the evolution of wage dispersion. The results suggest that wage dispersion was stable from centralized bargaining’s introduction in 1956 to the late 1960s. Afterwards, there was a rapid decline, likely because of solidaristic bargaining. Essay III contrasts the implementation of the active labor market policy to regional policy. Following a decisive shift around 1970, the focus on north to south mobility was replaced with policies to stimulate northern employment. Declining rural support for the Social Democrats and electoral competition from the Center Party caused this shift. Finally, Essay IV is a case study about mobility subsidy usage in Västernorrland County using sources on relocation allowances from 1965, 1970 and 1975. The results indicate that in the 1960s there was strong selection into the program by young persons with good labor market prospects. However, the program’s use did not change after the regional policy shift in the early 1970s. The collective results suggest that the policies associated with the Swedish model were minor for economic restructuring patterns. The migrations of the 1960s and the decline in regional disruptions after 1970 should instead be explained by studying the consequences of structural changes, how regions were progressively affected differently and the possible role that government policies played in directing demand for labor across space.

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