Should I stay or should I go? Early career mobility and migration drivers

Abstract

Where do young people wish to settle down, and why? Recent data show a high level of internal migration among young adults in the Nordic region, with a striking differences in migration intensities between people in their 20s compared to people in their 30s. Exploring current trends in mobility is vital for regional integration and prosperity, planning provisions and projections. The attraction of young individuals from urban areas and university towns to non-metropolitan regions is an important source of economic growth for many regions. The review of young people's mobility behaviour in the early career stage in the Nordic countries highlights that migration decisions are influenced by a set of various push and pull factors, working simultaneously. It is important to understand the background of the mover, where the behavior of the mover is impacted by educational background and industrial specialisation, geographical origin, gender, income-level and civic status. Learning more about current migration drivers and migration aspirations of the early career cohorts in the Nordic countries will help policymakers to shape the future of Nordic labour markets and better prepare the future labour supply and demands in rural areas. This working paper present the main findings from previous studies on migration drivers and will serve as a baseline for the data collection on migration history and migration aspirations of young people in the Nordic countries.