Jakob Molinder
Researcher
Why did Swedish regional net migration rates fall in the 1970s? : The role of policy changes versus structural change, 1945–1985
Author
Summary, in English
The relationship between local labour market conditions and regional migration has been widely discussed within research. In Sweden, where interregional migration reached a peak in the 1960s but decreased substantially in the 1970s, the role of economic policy has been especially contended in light of the Swedish model and its official stress on regional mobility. By collecting and creating a new and unique dataset on net-migration, vacancy rates, employment and labour income by county, the pattern of interregional migration in Sweden is analysed over a period of time that also covers the early postwar period (1945– 1985), allowing for a detailed evaluation of the drivers of migration at different times. My results suggest that there was no significant change over time in the responsiveness of migration to local labour market conditions. The changing patterns of regional migration were therefore more likely the result of changes in the pace and direction of structural change. I discuss the implications of these results for previous accounts of the Swedish model and of the decline in migration after 1970.
Department/s
- Department of Economic History
Publishing year
2018
Language
English
Pages
91-115
Publication/Series
Scandinavian Economic History Review
Volume
66
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Routledge
Topic
- Economic History
Keywords
- Swedish model
- regional migration
- labour markets
- economic restructuring
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0358-5522