FIW

Dear Colleague,

We cordially invite you to the wiiw-FIW-Seminar in International Economics on

Thursday, January 14^th, 4 pm

wiiw, Rahlgasse 3, 1060 Vienna, lecture hall (ground floor)

Interregional migration within the European Union

in the aftermath of the Eastern enlargements: a spatial approach

Sascha Sardadvar (with Rocha-Akis S.)

Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)

Abstract

This paper investigates interregional migration on a pan-EU level for the era immediately following the accession of new member states with relatively low income levels. It is shown that it is possible to account for spatial effects of interregional migration despite the lack of data on region-to-region migration flows. In the paper, a spatial model framework of interregional migration is developed that corresponds to a spatial lag of X model or, by inclusion of a spatial autocorrelation term, a spatial Durbin error model. The framework shows that within a system, a linear model of migration inevitably result in a function of net-migration which is based on a column-standardised weight matrix. A region’s migration level is assumed to be simultaneously affected by determinants at home as well as in other regions, where the latter’s influences decrease with distance. The specifications are subsequently applied to data on net-migration rates in 250 European NUTS2 regions over the period 2006–2008. The empirical results reveal a robust association between a region’s net-migration rate and its relative location in space. Moreover, migration is driven by income opportunities, labour market conditions, economic growth, human capital endowments as well as temporarily imposed restrictions on the freedom of movement of workers.

Keywords: Interregional migration, Enlarged EU, Spatial econometrics, Column-standardised weight matrix

JEL Classification: J61, R23, C21

After the seminar there will be the opportunity for the speaker and the audience for further discussions, accompanied by drinks and snacks.

This seminar series is an activity in the framework of FIW ('Forschungsschwerpunkt Internationale Wirtschaft'), which is a project designed to build a center of excellence in research on International Economics, funded by the Austrian Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (BMWFW).

The seminar programme is regularly updated. Please visit our website for the current version of the programme at:

http://wiiw.ac.at/fiw-wiiw-seminars-in-international-economics-es-6.html

http://www.fiw.ac.at/index.php?id=748

(Papers and presentation slides, as far as available, are posted on our homepage http://wiiw.ac.at/events.html after the respective seminars.)

Best regards

Julia Grübler

Organizer

Michaela Bönisch

Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche (wiiw)

The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies

Rahlgasse 3, A-1060 Wien

T: +43 1 533 66 10 - 40