Modelling the Influence of Regional Identity on Human Migration
Open Access
- 26 July 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Urban Science
- Vol. 3 (3), 78
- https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3030078
Abstract
Human migration involves the relocation of individuals, households or moving groups between geographical locations. Aggregate spatial patterns of movement reflect complex interactions among motivations (such as distance, identity, economic opportunities, etc.) that influence migration behaviour and determine destination choice. Gravity models and radiation models are often used to study different types of migration at various spatial scales. In this paper, we propose that human migration models can be improved by embedding regional identities into the model. We modify the existing human migration gravity model by adding an identity parameter based on three different sets of Dutch identity regions. Through analysis of the Dutch internal migration data between 1996 and 2016, we show that adding the identity parameter has a significant effect on the distance distribution. We find that individuals are more likely to move towards municipalities located within the same identity region. We test the impact of regional identity by comparing randomly spatially clustered and optimised identity regions to show that the effects we attribute to regional identity could not be attributed due to chance. Finally, our finding shows that cultural identity should be taken into account and has broad implications on the practice of modelling human migration patterns at large. We find that people living in Dutch municipalities are 3.89 times as likely to move to a municipality when it is located within the same historic identity region. Including these identity regions in the migration model decreases the deviation of the model by 10.7%.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- International Migration, Internal Migration, Mobility and UrbanizationIOM Migration Research Series, 2018
- Immigrants and Social DistanceThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2012
- A world‐system perspective on the social sciencesBritish Journal of Sociology, 2010
- Choices and constraints in the migration of families: The central Netherlands, 1850–1940The History of the Family, 2004
- Network Migration of Ethnic GermansInternational Migration Review, 1997
- HUMAN MIGRATION: THEORY, MODELS, AND EMPIRICAL STUDIES*Journal of Regional Science, 1985
- Household migration: Theoretical and empirical resultsJournal of Urban Economics, 1979
- E. G. Ravenstein and the “laws of migration”Journal of Historical Geography, 1977
- The Costs and Returns of Human MigrationJournal of Political Economy, 1962
- A Pure Theory of Local ExpendituresJournal of Political Economy, 1956