How migration motives change over distance: evidence on variations across socioeconomic and demographic groups

Migration researchers have long known that the motives for changing place of residence vary over migration distance. Typically, short-distance moves are regarded as motivated by housing considerations and longer-distance moves primarily by employment considerations. Using a large-scale survey on migration motives, this paper explores how migration motives change over migration distance. Particular attention is paid to variations across socio-economic and demographic groups. The results show that the housing- versus employment-driven migration dichotomy, over short and long distances, respectively, is still somewhat valid, though the present findings give a much more nuanced interpretation. The paper reveals considerable variation in migration motives, not only over migration distance, but also particularly in relation to migrant socio-economic and demographic characteristics