What matters more for the decision to move: jobs versus amenities

TY - JOUR

T1 - What matters more for the decision to move: jobs versus amenities

AU - Niedomysl, Thomas

AU - Hansen, Høgni Kalsø

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - Highly skilled workers are increasingly recognised as a key competitive asset for regional development, and claims have been made that emphasise the importance of certain amenities for the prospects of attracting this particular group of workers. We use a recent large-scale survey to investigate the relative importance of jobs versus amenities for the decision to migrate, as perceived by the migrants themselves. The paper thereby adds important insights to the existing literature that has hitherto mainly focused on analysing the extent to which aggregate migration flows correlate with employment-related or amenity-related factors. The results show that jobs are considerably more important for the decision to move among highly educated migrants compared with migrants with lower education.

AB - Highly skilled workers are increasingly recognised as a key competitive asset for regional development, and claims have been made that emphasise the importance of certain amenities for the prospects of attracting this particular group of workers. We use a recent large-scale survey to investigate the relative importance of jobs versus amenities for the decision to migrate, as perceived by the migrants themselves. The paper thereby adds important insights to the existing literature that has hitherto mainly focused on analysing the extent to which aggregate migration flows correlate with employment-related or amenity-related factors. The results show that jobs are considerably more important for the decision to move among highly educated migrants compared with migrants with lower education.

U2 - 10.1068/a42432

DO - 10.1068/a42432

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0308-518X

VL - 42

SP - 1636

EP - 1649

JO - Environment and Planning A

JF - Environment and Planning A

ER -