Migration Across Spanish Provinces: Evidence from the Social Security Records (1978-1992)

Universitat Pompeu Fabra Economics WP No. 318

27 Pages Posted: 30 Mar 1999

See all articles by Carlo Devillanova

Carlo Devillanova

Bocconi University - Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management

Walter Garcia-Fontes

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) - Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences

Date Written: 1998

Abstract

This paper uses Social Security records to study internal migration in Spain. This is the first paper that uses this data source, which has some advantages with respect to existing data sources: it includes only job-seeking migrants and it allows to identify temporary migration. Within the framework of an extended gravity model, we estimate a Generalized Negative Binomial regression on gross migration flows between provinces. We quantify the effect of local labor market imbalances on workers' mobility and discuss the equilibrating role of internal migration in Spain. Our main results show that the effect of employment opportunities have changed after 1984; migrants seem to be more responsive to economic conditions but, consistently with previous studies for the Spanish labor market, the migration response to wage differentials is wrongly signed. Our analysis also confirms the larger internal mobility of highly qualified workers.

JEL Classification: J61, R23

Suggested Citation

Devillanova, Carlo and Garcia-Fontes, Walter, Migration Across Spanish Provinces: Evidence from the Social Security Records (1978-1992) (1998). Universitat Pompeu Fabra Economics WP No. 318, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=135410 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.135410

Carlo Devillanova (Contact Author)

Bocconi University - Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan, 20136
Italy

Walter Garcia-Fontes

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) - Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences ( email )

Ramon Trias Fargas 25-27
Barcelona, 08005
Spain