Cohort migration

Area of Science:

• Demography
• Sociology
• Population Studies

Background:

• Traditional migration analysis focuses on net migration and population redistribution.
• Studying migration as a life-cycle event for individuals and cohorts is challenging with current data.
• Existing data limitations in the United States hinder cohort-based migration analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate the utility of residence histories for analyzing migration as a cohort process.
• To highlight the need for expanded analytical tools in demography for studying reversible and repeatable migration events.
• To connect cohort migration analysis with methodological challenges in sociology, particularly social mobility.

Main Methods:

• Collection of residence histories as a feasible data acquisition approach.
• Utilizing the 1958 Residence History Supplement to the Current Population Survey for exploratory analysis.
• Developing cohort migration techniques analogous to life table approaches for mortality and fertility.

Main Results:

• Residence histories provide a practical method for gathering data on migration events.
• Exploratory work demonstrates the utility of residence history data for migration research.
• Local studies using residence histories show promise but lack cohort-level analysis capabilities.

Conclusions:

• Residence histories are a viable alternative to registration systems for obtaining migration data.
• National data on residence histories are crucial for developing robust cohort migration techniques.
• Cohort migration analysis offers insights into social mobility and requires expanded demographic tools.