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- Info
The economic impact of rural-to-urban migration in the United States: Evidence for male labor-force participants
| Author: |
Rodgers, John L.; Rodgers, Joan R. |
| Date: |
1997 |
| Periodical: |
Social Science Quarterly |
| Abstract: |
This paper investigates the effect of rural-to-urban migration on the economic status of migrants. Methods. The effect of migration is measured by the difference between the migrant's observed economic status, up to six years after the move, and the estimated economic status that the migrant would have experienced at that time had the move not occurred. Regression analysis is used to estimate the effect of migration. Results. We find that substantial benefits accrue to rural-to-urban migrants and that the benefits are permanent, not transitory. For example, six years after moving, the real annual earnings of migrants are about 30 percent higher (on average) than they would have been had the move not occurred. These benefits can be explained neither by personal characteristics of the migrants nor by attributes of the regions to and from which they migrate. Conclusions. The considerable rural-to-urban migration that has been observed in the United States in the last several decades has, in general, been beneficial to the migrants. |
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