Independent and linked migrants: determinants of African American interstate migration

"Through kinship and other links to destinations, many African American interstate migrants in the United States join other people in destination households. These ¿linked' migrants contrast to ¿independent migrants' who move as individuals or intact groups and set up their own households at the destination. Using U.S. Census Public Use Micro Sample data, this paper first shows that, in the 1985-90 period, about 45 percent of all Black interstate migrants were independent, compared to 38 percent who were linked to housing at the destination and 17 percent who moved into group quarters. Second, a multinomial logit model, incorporating individual and state-level variables, is specified that contrasts the determinants of independent and linked migration.... It is concluded that the understanding of Black migration must take into account a variety of factors beyond traditional labor market conditions, including links to the destination and individual housing circumstances."