It’s not me, it’s you: internal migration and local wages in Great Britain

ABSTRACTDifferences in regional incomes are large and persistent in many countries. On the one hand, internal migration from low- to high-income regions might eradicate these differences over time. On the other hand, internal migration might exacerbate disparities, as receiving regions benefit from...

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Main Author: Carolin Ioramashvili
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-12-01
Series:Regional Studies, Regional Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2023.2276216
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author Carolin Ioramashvili
author_facet Carolin Ioramashvili
author_sort Carolin Ioramashvili
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACTDifferences in regional incomes are large and persistent in many countries. On the one hand, internal migration from low- to high-income regions might eradicate these differences over time. On the other hand, internal migration might exacerbate disparities, as receiving regions benefit from incoming skills and agglomeration economies. This paper estimates the effect of internal in- and out-migration on the earnings of employees who do not move, using a panel of employee records from Great Britain between 2004 and 2018. Employees are tracked and identified as internal migrants if they start working in a new travel-to-work area (TTWA), representing functional labour market areas. The share of in- and out-migrants is significantly correlated with earnings and earnings growth of non-migrants in a TTWA. The results show that in-migrants have an immediate negative effect on local earnings of non-migrants. After three years, in-migration is positively correlated with earnings growth. These effects are exclusively driven by urban areas. Out-migrants have no significant effects. The results provide some evidence that labour mobility can be used as a tool to encourage local growth, albeit with significant adjustment costs.
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spelling doaj.art-dd1370e0b1954916854273aa850919182024-04-03T10:52:34ZengTaylor & Francis GroupRegional Studies, Regional Science2168-13762023-12-0110187688810.1080/21681376.2023.2276216It’s not me, it’s you: internal migration and local wages in Great BritainCarolin Ioramashvili0Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), Business School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UKABSTRACTDifferences in regional incomes are large and persistent in many countries. On the one hand, internal migration from low- to high-income regions might eradicate these differences over time. On the other hand, internal migration might exacerbate disparities, as receiving regions benefit from incoming skills and agglomeration economies. This paper estimates the effect of internal in- and out-migration on the earnings of employees who do not move, using a panel of employee records from Great Britain between 2004 and 2018. Employees are tracked and identified as internal migrants if they start working in a new travel-to-work area (TTWA), representing functional labour market areas. The share of in- and out-migrants is significantly correlated with earnings and earnings growth of non-migrants in a TTWA. The results show that in-migrants have an immediate negative effect on local earnings of non-migrants. After three years, in-migration is positively correlated with earnings growth. These effects are exclusively driven by urban areas. Out-migrants have no significant effects. The results provide some evidence that labour mobility can be used as a tool to encourage local growth, albeit with significant adjustment costs.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2023.2276216Internal migrationlabour mobilityincomeearningslabour marketsemployment
spellingShingle Carolin Ioramashvili
It’s not me, it’s you: internal migration and local wages in Great Britain
Regional Studies, Regional Science
Internal migration
labour mobility
income
earnings
labour markets
employment
title It’s not me, it’s you: internal migration and local wages in Great Britain
title_full It’s not me, it’s you: internal migration and local wages in Great Britain
title_fullStr It’s not me, it’s you: internal migration and local wages in Great Britain
title_full_unstemmed It’s not me, it’s you: internal migration and local wages in Great Britain
title_short It’s not me, it’s you: internal migration and local wages in Great Britain
title_sort it s not me it s you internal migration and local wages in great britain
topic Internal migration
labour mobility
income
earnings
labour markets
employment
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2023.2276216
work_keys_str_mv AT carolinioramashvili itsnotmeitsyouinternalmigrationandlocalwagesingreatbritain