Human-capital selectivity in interstate migration

Area of Science:

• Economics
• Sociology
• Demography

Background:

• Interstate migration is typically analyzed by total population shifts.
• Human capital, representing skills and education, is a critical component of economic growth.
• Previous research has not adequately distinguished between general human migration and human capital migration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if human capital migration patterns differ significantly from overall human migration patterns across U.S. states.
• To identify states experiencing net in-migration or out-migration of human capital.
• To highlight the limitations of traditional migration models in capturing human capital dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the 1980 United States Census Public Use Microdata Sample A.
• Developed and applied human capital measures to census data.
• Analyzed migration flows at the state level, differentiating between total population and human capital.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a statistically significant difference between human migration and human capital migration.
• Identified states with net in-migration of people but net out-migration of human capital (e.g., Arkansas, Vermont).
• Identified states with net out-migration of people but net in-migration of human capital (e.g., Connecticut, Minnesota).

Conclusions:

• Standard models of interstate migration obscure the distinct flows of human capital.
• State-level human capital dynamics are not accurately represented by population migration data alone.
• Policy and economic analyses should account for the specific migration of human capital.