Internal Migration in the United States

Raven Molloy (), Christopher Smith and Abigail Wozniak
Additional contact information
Raven Molloy: Federal Reserve Board of Governors

No 5903, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We review patterns in migration within the US over the past thirty years. Internal migration has fallen noticeably since the 1980s, reversing increases from earlier in the century. The decline in migration has been widespread across demographic and socioeconomic groups, as well as for moves of all distances. Although a convincing explanation for the secular decline in migration remains elusive and requires further research, we find only limited roles for the housing market contraction and the economic recession in reducing migration recently. Despite its downward trend, migration within the US remains higher than that within most other developed countries.

Keywords: U.S. recession; housing crisis; migration trends; internal migration; cross-country comparisons (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 J61 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2011-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mig and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (348)

Published - published in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2011, 25 (3), 173-196

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Related works:
Journal Article: Internal Migration in the United States (2011)
Working Paper: Internal migration in the United States (2011)
Working Paper: Internal Migration in the United States (2011)
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