Inter-regional migration flows andself-employment inSouth East England

Darja Reuschke

BSPS Annual Conference 2011

Background and motivation

• Fielding’s work on escalator region (1989, 1992)

– Longitudinal Study (LS) England and Wales 1971 and 1981

– migration to and from the South East vs. all inter-regionalmigration flows in England and Wales

– South East enhances individuals’ propensity for occupationaladvancement

– South East is a net exporter of the qualified service class

– Positive association between out-migration from the SouthEast and an entry into the Petite Bourgeoisie

– Region exports its ‘entrepreneurial culture’

Background and motivation (cont.)

• No newer study on migration flows and flows into self-employment

– Newer migration studies build on Fielding’s concept of anescalator region (Findlay et al. 2008, Andersson 1996)

– Immigration to London (Wills et al. 2009)

– Entrepreneurial businesses of immigrants in London(Sepulveda et al. 2011)

Main Objectives and Questions

• Testing whether the South East exports itsentrepreneurial culture

• Relations between out-migration from / in-migrationto South East and self-employment

• Who is more likely to move out from / move to theSouth East?

– Compared to other internal migrants in the UK

Data and methods

• British Household Panel Survey (BHPS)

– Sample of households recruited in 1991

– Movers are followed within UK

– Approx. 10,000 individuals

– Pooled waves 1991-2008

• Labour Force Survey (LFS)

– Quarterly sample survey of 60,000 households in UK

– HH for 5Q in the sample = 80% overlap for consecutive Qs

– Retrospective questions in spring (April-June) quarters

– Pooled samples spring quarters 2010/08

Data and methods (cont.)

• Residential moves and employment status

– BHPS: place of residence and employment status everyyear, distance of move t-1 and t,

– LFS: GOR and employment status both in reference weekand 12 months ago in spring quarters

• Extracted samples:

– People aged 18-64 excluding those in full-time educationand retired people

– Employment status and region of residence at both time ofinterview and year before, and moving status are given

Definitions

• South East = London and South East region (GOR)

– Out-migrants = move from London or South East region toother GOR’s, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

– In-migrants = movers to South East region or Londonincluding immigrants

• Inter-regional moves

– LFS = moves across GOR’s

– BHPS = moves ≥ 50 km

• Self-employment = respondents’ self-reportedstatement

Big Problem: Selection effects

• Two sources of bias are particular relevant:

– Behavioural/cultural characteristics of those who enterself-employment (risk aversion, etc.) (e.g. Freytag andThurik, 2010)

– Social selectivity of movers (e.g. Champion and Fisher,2003)

• (Repeated) cross-sectional data are NOT suitable forstudy (e.g. Quarterly Samples of LFS)

• Test relations between migration and self-employment ONLY with panel data (e.g. BHPS)

Sample Description

In-migration:- Outside the UK (47%)- East of England (14%)- South West (14%)

Out-migration:- East of England (33%)- South West (23%)

Data: LFS spring quarters 2010/08

Migration flows to andfrom the South East(London and South East regiontogether)

Description of out-migrants, in-migrants, and inter-regional migrants in the UK

Out-migrants vs. other UK long distance movers,random effects, odds ratios

Who leaves the South East and who stays?

In-migration to the South East

Conclusion

• Compared to other UK regions, South East losesmore self-employed workers through out-migration,BUT …

• no export of its ‘entrepreneurial culture’

• Compared to other inter-regional migrants out-migrants from the South East are more likely to exitself-employment.

• Leaving the South East is related to housing ladder

• No import of self-employed workers either

Conclusion (cont.)

• More longitudinal analyses

– Long-term effects

– Linkage of migration and commuting

References

• Andersson, R. (1996): The Geographical and Social Mobility of Immigrants:Escalator Regions in Sweden from an Ethnic Perspective. GeografiskaAnnaler: Series B, Human Geography 78(1):3-25.

• Fielding, A. J. (1989): Inter-regional migration and social change: a study ofSouth East England based upon data from the Longitudinal Study. Transactionof the Institute of British Geographers. New Series 14(1):24-36.

• Fieding, A. J. (1992): Migration and Social Mobility: South East England as anEscalator Region. Regional Studies 26(1):1-15.

• Findlay, A.; Mason, C.; Harrison, R.; Houston, D. and McCollum, D. (2008):Getting off the escalator? A study of Scots out-migration from a global cityregion. Environment and Planning A 40:2169-2185.

References (cont.)

• Sepulveda, L.; Syrett, S. and Lyon, F. (2011): Population superdiversity andnew migrant enterprise: The case of London. Entrepreneurship & RegionalDevelopment iFirst:1-29.

• Wills, J.; May, J., Datta, K., Evans, Y., Herbert, J. and Mcllwaine, C. (2009):London’s Migrant Division of Labour. European Urban and Regional Studies16(3):257-271.

Dr Darja Reuschkedarja.reuschke@st-andrews.ac.uk

Acknowledgement: Marie Curie grant by theEuropean Commission within the

7th Framework Programme (ID 252752)