Life Course and Structural Migrations: Refining Migration Classifications

Peter V. Schaeffer

International Regional Science Review, 2023, vol. 46, issue 4, 359-380

Abstract: Migration is a major engine of demographic change for towns, regions, and whole countries. Traditionally, migrations have been divided into those caused by push or pull factors or classified by events that triggered them. In other words, push and pull factors are but one way to classify migration movements. This work distinguishes between life course and structural migrations. Life course migrations are linked to important events in people’s lives such as graduation, marriage, having children, job promotions, discharge from the military, or retirement and the motivation comes from the migrant. Structural migrations are caused by changes in the economic, social, political, or natural environment and, therefore, externally motivated. This classification scheme is compatible with and complementary to existing classifications and particularly those based on push and pull factors. It yields some additional insights for policy making, empirical research, and migration modeling.

Keywords: migration; human spatial structure; spatial structure; policy and applications; other economic growth and development; economic growth and development; policy and applications; other demographic analysis; demographic analysis; methods; other theory; general theory; general theory and history; demographics; human resources; policy and applications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:46:y:2023:i:4:p:359-380

DOI: 10.1177/01600176221145885

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