It is not Just the Economy: Declining Migration and the Rise of Secular Rootedness
Thomas Cooke, Population, Space and Place, May-June 2011, Pages 193-203
Abstract: Americans have always been viewed, both by themselves and by others, as a migrant society. However, migration rates have reached record lows: only 1.6% of Americans moved from one state to another in 2009, and only 3.7% moved from one county to another. This research conducts a decomposition of the change in migration rates between 1999 and 2009 using data from the Current Population Survey. The analysis concludes that about 63% of the decline in migration rates between 1999 and 2009 can be attributed to the direct effects of the economic crisis that began in 2007, and another 17% of the decline can be attributed to demographic changes (e.g. the aging of the population) but that the remaining 20% of the decrease in migration is due to a decline in migration behaviour, or increased rootedness, that applies
to all demographic categories. The discussion focuses on the implications of the universal, or secular, rise in rootedness for migration studies.
(Nod to Kevin Lewis, who moved to NC from CA)
2 comments:
interesting. My hunch is that telecommuting also plays a role in the drop.
Telecommuting and the many technologies which simply make travel unnecessary - VoIP/Skype, e-mail, social media. Many people 'feel' like they are experiencing the world without leaving their bedroom - let alone their county or state ...
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