Factors connected to moving from urban to areas with universities among persons at family formation age in Finland during 2003 to 2008

Matti Saari, Statistics Finland

The most typical employed long-distance mover in Finland in the past few years has been a person around the age of 25 that moves between larger urban areas. This article, therefore, examines the moves by such persons from urban areas to urban area with university and connected regional factors. The method of the study is regression analysis of panel data using within estimation. Unemployment and economic growth in the area have been found to be connected to moving to cities. In addition, consideration of factors of the labour market structure such as churning has been considered important. Ideally, churning is preponderance of mobility of labour in proportion to the relative amount of job generation and loss. In addition, the study examines the connection between the share of industrial workers and highly educated persons, and urban out-migration to urban areas with universities among persons at family formation age. In urban areas with universities, positively correlating factors for out-migration were the churning rate, the share of little educated people, and the change in the number of people approaching retirement. In other urban areas, these factors did not explain the migration and, in addition, only the change in the number of persons retiring had a similar estimate of the parameter as in the other analysed migration flow. In other urban areas, migration to urban areas with universities was only explained by unemployment and growth in employment. As expected, unemployment had a positive effect and growth in employment had a negative effect on migration to urban areas with universities. Unemployment and growth in employment did not explain moves between urban areas with universities.