The Economic Determinants of the Internal Migration Flows in Russia During Transition

Abstract

I analyze the patterns of migration by testing the influence of traditional economic and amenity factors and of housing market reform on the direction of migration flows. I improve on the few previous studies of Russian migration during transition by analyzing gross flows rather than net flows in order to properly distinguish effects, and by analyzing a much wider set of factors. The results indicate that even early in transition, migration responds to average wages and prices. In particular, higher average wages and lower prices positively determine immigration. Higher average wages also positively determine outmigration. Apartment privatization significantly affects migration even after only the first year of the reform. Amenity and demographic factors generally influence migration as expected. Several checks confirm the robustness of these results.