There's No Place like Home: Nonmigration and Civic Engagement

Abstract

Demographic stability in local areas is achieved by maintaining a population core that does not move. However, relatively little is known about contextual factors related to nonmigration. What research exists on nonmigration suggests that the factors anchoring people to places may be different than the factors that are primary determinants of migration. In this paper we discuss the social foundations that anchor people to places and present an analysis that demonstrates an interrelationship between community social institutions and nonmigration. Specifically, we show that the proportion of persons remaining between 1985 and 1990 in 3024 US counties varies directly with the number of locally owned small-scale retail establishments, the number of small-scale manufacturing firms and family farms, the number of local civic associations, and the proportion of the local population in civically active religious denominations.