1. What Is the Opportunity Cost of Moving? Reconsideration of the Effects of Distance on Migration.
- Author
-
Levy, Mildred B. and Wadycki, Walter J.
- Subjects
EMIGRATION & immigration ,IMMIGRANTS ,OPPORTUNITY costs ,ECONOMETRIC models - Abstract
In this paper we have reformulated the "traditional" econometric model of migration to include more explicitly the opportunity costs of moving and estimated the model utilizing data on 1961 migration in Venezuela. The theoretical "underpinnings" of an economic analysis of migration, their relationship to earlier studies, and the model we estimate are discussed in Section I below. Section II contains the results of our tests of this model. We find that variables which reflect alternative opportunities are significant determinants of the allocation of Venezuelan migrants among alternative destinations. We also find that the inclusion of these variables substantially reduces both the explanatory power of the distance variable and its estimated deterrent effect on migration. A brief summary and conclusions are presented in Section III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 1974
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