The emigration from Gunnarskog : A peak year study of the total emigration from Gunnarskog, with main focus on the emigration to North America.

The purpose of this essay is to test earlier migration theories by study the emigration from Gunnarskog during three peak years. Analyse whether the emigration from Gunnarskog reflects the international, national and regional trends that previous research shows by using a comparative method, and then test which theory is applicable on Gunnarskog. To achieve this, a demographic description of the emigrants has been made. The main focus of the study is on the emigration to America but it also includes the emigration to Norway. Gunnarskog's emigration does not differ significantly from the international or national emigration, nor the regional one. Ostmark had earlier a more extensive emigration than Gunnarskog, but Gunnarskog has a larger overall emigration to America than Ostmark. Regarding the emigration to Norway, it follows the same trends as the emigration to America except that there was a majority of women among the emigrants to Norway, which is contrary to the statistics of emigrants to North America. Everret Lee's theory of push and pull factors and intervening obstacles can be applied on the emigration from Gunnarskog prestented in this essay. The other theories presented in this study becomes too advanced as an examination of a number of other variables was required in order to accommodate them. Furthermore, Everett Lee's theoretical model places no major demands on either mathematical, psychological or sociological knowledge, which makes the theory manageable for a larger audience. This makes it better suited for simpler studies and as a general explanatory model for migration. The disadvantage of Lee's model is that it in some cases can be somewhat simplified, which becomes clear when trying to define how important each push and pull factor has been in relation to each other