Changing migration patterns and social mobility in Southern

Migration is one potentially important determinant of social mobility by enlarging networks and facilitating marriage as well as by increasing human capital through formal education and learning-by-doing. In addition, migration is a highly selective process in that migrants are frequently positively selected in terms of quality, and they may hence be more likely to climb socially. The aim of this paper is to study in considerable detail the interconnection between geographical and social mobility in times of industrialization and changing migration patterns. The study focuses on five rural parishes in western Scania in southern Sweden between c. 1815 and 1895. Using individual level longitudinal data we employ event-history analysis in analyzing both the determinants of migration, and how they change over time, and the impact of migration experience on the likelihood of social mobility. The results show that migration experience increased the likelihood of social mobility. Both upward and downward mobility was affected, but the effect on upward mobility was stronger and more consistent over time