This study analyses the composition of outmigration flows regarding migrants’ characteristics such as family situation, educational attainment and labour market situation. To expand our research, out-migrants are separated into return and onward migrants. Results indicate that the labour market situation of immigrants (unemployment and uptake of social benefits) in the destination country is an important determinant in the decision to out-migrate. However, the effect varies among countries due to the political situation in the source country, the migration costs and the extensive welfare benefits in Sweden. Labour immigrants are more likely to return to their country of origin whereas refugee immigrants are more likely to move to another country. Other findings demonstrate that emigrants are negatively selected regarding educational attainment. High-educated individuals have a higher probability of returning home than moving to a third country. The likelihood of emigration also depends on other characteristics such as the family situation of immigrants and the duration of residence in the destination country. All in all, labour market outcomes are the most important factors in the decision of out-migration.

Doctor of Philosophy / Geography / Lisa M. Harrington / The population of the American Great Plains has grown steadily but unevenly. While metropolitan areas − primarily on the peripheries of the Plains − have expanded, significant interior portions have experienced decades of outmigration and the challenges that accompany the exodus. Geographers have explored the interplay between rural population loss and service consolidation, the many reasons people leave, the age-specific dynamics of those leaving, and the varied strategies being employed at different scales to coax people back. The vantage point of the residents who remain in emptying spaces has received little attention, however. Grounded theory guided a sequential mixed method approach to gain a better perspective on the aspects of place that contribute to an individual’s rootedness in the most rural and depopulating portions of the central Great Plains. Questionnaires were mailed in 2015 to 1,000 randomly-sampled households in ten counties of Kansas and Nebraska. Counties were selected on the most rural USDA ERS Rural-Urban Continuum and Urban-Influence Codes, ERS typology identifying population loss, and the most geographically-remote USDA Frontier and Remote Area designation. Focus groups were conducted after the mailed questionnaires in the county seats of three of counties that received the mailed survey. Correlation and contingency analyses were used to explore relationships within the closed-ended questionnaire responses for statistical significance. Open-ended responses provided depth to the closed-ended material. Results of the focus groups provided rich qualitative data that triangulated with quantitative results and offered a holistic view of the aspects of place encouraging someone to remain in a depopulating region. The elements of place encouraging rootedness were similar between the responses on the mailed questionnaire and those from the participants in the three focus groups. Rootedness was most associated with a sense of belonging. Rooted respondents also indicated that they felt good about where they live. In addition, many rooted individuals perceive themselves to be insiders in the community and view community spirit to be strong. Questionnaire results suggest that being involved with the community had a positive relationship with levels of rootedness. Rooted respondents were also more likely to perceive the visual appearance of their nearby surroundings favorably. A significant concern was the need for more vocational services within the focal study counties. A lack of sufficient trained individuals was seen as a reflection of institutional fast-tracking of students out of the area combined with a lack of support for motivating young people to apply their skills locally. Communities within the study area are not in danger of disappearing anytime soon, but their populations’ continued downward trajectory undermines their viability over the long term. Strategies like a shift in local educational approaches and inclusive activities aimed at those more likely to leave may encourage new roots to be put down or nurture roots to grow deeper, thus helping to curb outmigration.

This dissertation explores the demographic, economic, political, and environmental characteristics that have helped define the "New West," reviews studies on individual attitudes and participation in response to these changes, and presents findings and conclusions from an analysis of two study areas: Bear Lake and Star Valley. Results suggest that residency status is generally not a significant predictor of resident attitudes towards aspects of community change. Non-residency status factors, such as high levels of place attachment, knowledge about community affairs, values for property ownership, and community satisfaction, were generally more influential upon residents' attitudes. Significant predictors of resident involvement in community affairs differed based on how involvement was measured; self-reported involvement in political affairs was most strongly predicted by permanent resident status, local social connections, knowledge of community affairs, and place attachment, while resident intention to participate in community affairs was positively correlated with greater personal efficacy, knowledge of community affairs, past leadership recruitment, place attachment, and altruistic motivation. Predictors for intention to participate also differed based on whether participation was measured by action type or by issue. Measuring participation by the type of action focused predictors on the skills, incentives, and resources needed to achieve those actions. Grouping participation by the type of issue, however, focused predictors on the characteristics that differentiated residents with regard to issue relevance. Out-migration, as an alternative to participatory action, was only predicted by non-economic factors. Additionally, the relationship between attitudes and behavioral intentions was only weakly predicted based on attitude ambivalence and specific scenarios. Study results highlighted several methodological considerations for future attitude and participatory studies. Use of general attitudinal statements may have yielded inflated response scores and therefore may not translate to shared acceptability of specific management decisions or trade-offs. This study also explored the notion of behavioral intentions as a means of identifying residents' "ideal" tendency for involvement. Local community leaders may be able to improve resident public participation by utilizing these findings to provide a shared goal for action, identifying appropriate audiences for specific issues, and recognizing how different participatory methods may yield obstacles and opportunities for resident involvement.

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<p> This paper analyzes the 1971-1976 outmigration pattern of the Canadian female elderly from the 23 Census Metropolitan Area's (CMA's). The migration is conceptualized as a three-level choice process and is represented by the logit model. The major findings are as follows: (1) Elderly females are substantially less migratory than young females but are slightly more mobile than elderly males. In addition,, the elderly females in the Western region tend to be more mobile than those in other regions. (2) Elderly females show less preference for the metro politan destinati ons than the young population; however, among the elderly, females have a stronger preference for metropolitan areas than males. (3) In general, the metropolita~d outmiS!'ants' destination choice pattern is less dispersed for the elderly than for the young. Among the older persons, female migrants have a larger dispersion than male migrants in most CMA's. (4) With respect to metropolitanward elderly migrants from the CMA's, the probability of choosing a particular destination is positively related to population size, brightness , and housing growth, and negatively related to the logarithm of di stance, cultural dissimilarity, coldness, and gross rent. (5)Environmental variables are more important than the housing variables in determining the destination choice pattern of the elderly mi grants. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

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