Internal Migration in the United States

48 Pages Posted: 15 Aug 2011

See all articles by Raven Molloy

Raven Molloy

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Christopher L. Smith

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Abigail Wozniak

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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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: internal migration, migration trends, housing crisis, U.S. recession, cross-country comparisons

JEL Classification: J61, R23, J1

Suggested Citation

Molloy, Raven and Smith, Christopher L. and Wozniak, Abigail, Internal Migration in the United States. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5903, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1909383 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1909383

Raven Molloy (Contact Author)

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ( email )

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Christopher L. Smith

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ( email )

20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20551
United States

Abigail Wozniak

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis ( email )

90 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55480
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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