Environmental factors are likely to affect human mobility in the form of migration, but the empirical evidence remains to be inconclusive. This research seeks to contribute shedding more light on this ambiguity: we examine whether and how environmental change leads to internal (i.e., domestic) migration at the individual level. It is argued that individual perceptions of different types of environmental change (sudden vs. gradual events) determine migration decisions in diverse ways. Empirically, the corresponding arguments are analyzed with new survey data, which have been collected in five developing countries and include both individuals who migrated and those who decided to stay. The results suggest that individual perceptions of long-term (gradual) environmental events, such as droughts, lower the likelihood of internal migration. However, there is some evidence that sudden-onset events, such as floods, increase the chances to move. These findings substantially improve our understanding of which type of environmental factors make individuals leave their homes, and they suggest that a more differentiated perspective on the issue of environmental migration based on adaptation is needed.

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