Migration and intervening opportunities

An analysis of factors affecting migration is presented. The authors "extend the investigation of the roles of information, intervening opportunities, and psychic costs by focussing on differences in migrant destinations with respect to the deterring effect of distance. [They develop] a reservation-wage model of migration which implies that the distance effect is weaker for high-wage destinations and stronger for low-wage destinations." The model is tested using data for Brazil, Japan, Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela.