Determinants of inter-regional migration in the Philippines
Date
2004-10
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Abstract
The advent of the 1980s has seen a shift in the characteristics of the Philippine internal migration streams to a more urban-ward movement. Migration is seen as a prominent contributory factor in the country's spatial imbalance in population distribution, making it a relevant developmental concern. This paper attempts to delve deeper into the issue of internal migration in the Philippines by examining the phenomenon at its very core, which is, the rationale behind the decision of an individual to migrate. The main objectives that this research hopes to achieve are to test for the significant determinants of inter-regional migration in the Philippines for the years 1985-1990, to determine the differences in migratory decision between males and females, and to draw policy implications and recommendations based on the results. With regression analysis, it has been found that the significant variables which affect the migration rate are the following: income at origin, income at destination, unemployment at origin, unemployment at destination, urbanization at origin, urbanization at destination, farm density at destination, income difference, unemployment difference, urbanization difference, farm density difference, past migration, distance, and ethnicity. Each one exhibited the hypothesized sign except for income at origin, urbanization at origin, unemployment at destination, and unemployment difference, which through further analysis was found to be consistent with the Todaro migration hypothesis. Past migration emerged as an overwhelmingly dominant variable. The model generally exhibited a better fit for female migration than male migration.
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Keywords
Inter-regional migration, Labor force, Labor relation, Labor market, regional labor force, Regional labor market