Inter-regional migration flows andself-employment inSouth East England
Darja Reuschke
BSPS Annual Conference 2011
Background and motivation
• Fielding’s work on escalator region (1989, 1992)
– Longitudinal Study (LS) England and Wales 1971 and 1981
– migration to and from the South East vs. all inter-regionalmigration flows in England and Wales
– South East enhances individuals’ propensity for occupationaladvancement
– South East is a net exporter of the qualified service class
– Positive association between out-migration from the SouthEast and an entry into the Petite Bourgeoisie
– Region exports its ‘entrepreneurial culture’
Background and motivation (cont.)
• No newer study on migration flows and flows into self-employment
– Newer migration studies build on Fielding’s concept of anescalator region (Findlay et al. 2008, Andersson 1996)
– Immigration to London (Wills et al. 2009)
– Entrepreneurial businesses of immigrants in London(Sepulveda et al. 2011)
Main Objectives and Questions
• Testing whether the South East exports itsentrepreneurial culture
• Relations between out-migration from / in-migrationto South East and self-employment
• Who is more likely to move out from / move to theSouth East?
– Compared to other internal migrants in the UK
Data and methods
• British Household Panel Survey (BHPS)
– Sample of households recruited in 1991
– Movers are followed within UK
– Approx. 10,000 individuals
– Pooled waves 1991-2008
• Labour Force Survey (LFS)
– Quarterly sample survey of 60,000 households in UK
– HH for 5Q in the sample = 80% overlap for consecutive Qs
– Retrospective questions in spring (April-June) quarters
– Pooled samples spring quarters 2010/08
Data and methods (cont.)
• Residential moves and employment status
– BHPS: place of residence and employment status everyyear, distance of move t-1 and t,
– LFS: GOR and employment status both in reference weekand 12 months ago in spring quarters
• Extracted samples:
– People aged 18-64 excluding those in full-time educationand retired people
– Employment status and region of residence at both time ofinterview and year before, and moving status are given
Definitions
• South East = London and South East region (GOR)
– Out-migrants = move from London or South East region toother GOR’s, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
– In-migrants = movers to South East region or Londonincluding immigrants
• Inter-regional moves
– LFS = moves across GOR’s
– BHPS = moves ≥ 50 km
• Self-employment = respondents’ self-reportedstatement
Big Problem: Selection effects
• Two sources of bias are particular relevant:
– Behavioural/cultural characteristics of those who enterself-employment (risk aversion, etc.) (e.g. Freytag andThurik, 2010)
– Social selectivity of movers (e.g. Champion and Fisher,2003)
• (Repeated) cross-sectional data are NOT suitable forstudy (e.g. Quarterly Samples of LFS)
• Test relations between migration and self-employment ONLY with panel data (e.g. BHPS)
Sample Description
In-migration:- Outside the UK (47%)- East of England (14%)- South West (14%)
Out-migration:- East of England (33%)- South West (23%)
Data: LFS spring quarters 2010/08
Migration flows to andfrom the South East(London and South East regiontogether)
Description of out-migrants, in-migrants, and inter-regional migrants in the UK
Out-migrants vs. other UK long distance movers,random effects, odds ratios
Who leaves the South East and who stays?
In-migration to the South East
Conclusion
• Compared to other UK regions, South East losesmore self-employed workers through out-migration,BUT …
• no export of its ‘entrepreneurial culture’
• Compared to other inter-regional migrants out-migrants from the South East are more likely to exitself-employment.
• Leaving the South East is related to housing ladder
• No import of self-employed workers either
Conclusion (cont.)
• More longitudinal analyses
– Long-term effects
– Linkage of migration and commuting
References
• Andersson, R. (1996): The Geographical and Social Mobility of Immigrants:Escalator Regions in Sweden from an Ethnic Perspective. GeografiskaAnnaler: Series B, Human Geography 78(1):3-25.
• Fielding, A. J. (1989): Inter-regional migration and social change: a study ofSouth East England based upon data from the Longitudinal Study. Transactionof the Institute of British Geographers. New Series 14(1):24-36.
• Fieding, A. J. (1992): Migration and Social Mobility: South East England as anEscalator Region. Regional Studies 26(1):1-15.
• Findlay, A.; Mason, C.; Harrison, R.; Houston, D. and McCollum, D. (2008):Getting off the escalator? A study of Scots out-migration from a global cityregion. Environment and Planning A 40:2169-2185.
References (cont.)
• Sepulveda, L.; Syrett, S. and Lyon, F. (2011): Population superdiversity andnew migrant enterprise: The case of London. Entrepreneurship & RegionalDevelopment iFirst:1-29.
• Wills, J.; May, J., Datta, K., Evans, Y., Herbert, J. and Mcllwaine, C. (2009):London’s Migrant Division of Labour. European Urban and Regional Studies16(3):257-271.
Dr Darja [email protected]
Acknowledgement: Marie Curie grant by theEuropean Commission within the
7th Framework Programme (ID 252752)