Abstract
We examine the determinants of intra-U.S. population migration at the metropolitan area level (MSA), with an emphasis on the presence of policies that are consistent with economic freedom. We are the first to produce a multivariate regression analysis of migration and economic freedom at the local level. Combining a 1993–2014 unbalanced panel of MSA-to-MSA migration data from the Internal Revenue Service with a new economic freedom index for U.S. metropolitan areas, we find that a 10% increase in economic freedom of a destination MSA, relative to the economic freedom of an origin MSA, was associated with a 27.4% increase in net migration from the origin MSA to the destination MSA. If we use mean net migration flows as a benchmark, we would expect a 10% increase in relative economic freedom to increase net migration to the destination MSA by 22 workers per year from each other MSA.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 170-190 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Southern Economic Journal |
Volume | 87 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2020 |
Keywords
- economic freedom
- local government
- metropolitan areas
- migration