Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparing Internal Migration Between Countries Using Courgeau’s k

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Population Dynamics and Projection Methods

Part of the book series: Understanding Population Trends and Processes ((UPTA,volume 4))

Abstract

Building on recent work for the 2009 UN Human Development Report, this chapter aims to explore one of the measures identified in a recent review by Bell et al. (Journal of the Royal Statistical Society A 165(3):435–464, 2002), as originally proposed by Courgeau (Population 28:511–537, 1973a). The particular appeal of Courgeau’s ‘k’ statistic is that it purports to provide a single summary index of migration intensity which transcends the differences in zonal systems that commonly confound cross-national comparisons. Courgeau’s k is applied to examine differences in mobility between 27 countries, using census data drawn primarily from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) database maintained by the University of Minnesota. Our goals of the chapter are threefold: first, to establish the strengths and limitations of Courgeau’s k as a summary measure of internal migration; second, to identify the extent of international differences in mobility; and third, to determine the general trajectory of internal migration over time.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Courgeau (1973a) variously uses log(n) and log (n2) in his theoretical exposition and subsequent analyses. For the analysis reported here we utilise the squared form of the equation.

References

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1995). 1991 census of population and housing, data quality – Undercount. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, M. (2003, May 1–3). Comparing internal migration between countries: Measures, data sources and results. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Minneapolis, MN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, M. (2005, July 18–23). Towards rigorous cross-national comparison of internal migration: Who collects what? Paper presented to the 25th conference of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, Tours, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, M., Blake, M., Boyle, P., Duke-Williams, O., Rees, P., Stillwell, J., & Hugo, G. (2002). Cross-national comparison of internal migration: Issues and measures. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society A, 165(3), 435–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, M., & Rees, P. (2006). Comparing migration in Britain and Australia: Harmonisation through use of age-time plans. Environment and Planning A, 38(5), 959–988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, M., & Muhidin, S. (2009). Cross-national comparisons of internal migration, Human Development Research Paper 2009/30. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake, M., Bell, M., & Rees, P. (2000). Creating a temporally consistent spatial framework for the analysis of interregional migration in Australia. International Journal of Population Geography, 6, 155–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogue, D. J., Ligel, G., & Kozloski, M. (2009). Immigration, internal migration and local mobility in the US. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, P. J., & Feng, Z. (2002). A method for integrating the 1981 and 1991 GB census interaction data. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 26, 241–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). (2007). Panorama Social de América Latina 2007, LC/G.2351-P/E, Santiago do Chile.

    Google Scholar 

  • Champion, A. G. (1989). Counterurbanisation, the changing pace and nature of Population deconcentration. London: Edward Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courgeau, D. (1973a). Migrations et d´ecoupages du territoire. Population, 28, 511–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Courgeau, D. (1973b). Migrants and migrations. Population, 28, 95–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang, C., Du, Y., & Meiwan, W. (2009). Migration and labor mobility in China. Human Development Research Paper 2009/09. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fielding, A. J. (1982). Counter-urbanisation in Western Europe. Progress in Planning, 17, 1–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitsul, P., & Philipov, D. (1981). The one year/five year migration problem. In A. Rogers (Ed.), Advances in multiregional demography (pp. 1–34). Laxenburg: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langevin, B., Begeot, F., & Pearce, D. (1992).Censuses in the European community. Population Trends, 68, 33–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Law, G. (1999). Administrative subdivisions of countries. North Carolina: McFarland, Jefferson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, J. F., & Boertlein, C. G. (1990). Comparing migration measures having different intervals. Current Population Reports, Series P-23 (pp. 1–11). .Washington DC: US Bureau of the Census.,

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, L. H. (1991). Residential mobility differences among developed countries. International Regional Science Review, 14,133–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, L. H. (1992). Changing residence, comparative perspectives on its relationship to age, sex and marital status. Population Studies, 46, 141–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nam, C. B., Serow, W., & Sly, D. (1990). International handbook on internal migration.Westport, CT: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newbold, K. B., & Bell, M. (2001). Return and onwards migration in Canada and Australia, evidence from fixed interval data. International Migration Review, 35, 1157–1184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rees, P. H. (1977). The measurement of migration from census data and other sources. Environment and Planning A, 9, 247–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rees, P., Bell, M., Duke-Williams, O., & Blake, M. (2000). Problems and solutions in the measurement of migration intensities: Australia and Britain compared. Population Studies, 54(2), 207–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rees, P., & Kupiszewski, M. (1996). Internal migration and regional population dynamics: What data are available in the Council of Europe member states? (Working Paper 96/1). Leeds: School of Geography, University of Leeds.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, P., & Kupiszewski, M. (1999a). Internal migration: What data are available in Europe? Journal of Official Statistics, 15(4), 551–586.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, P., & Kupiszewski, M. (1999b). Internal migration and regional population dynamics in Europe: A synthesis. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, A., Raquillet, R., & Castro, L. J. (1978). Model migration schedules and their applications. Environment and Planning A, 10(5), 475–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, A., & Castro, L. J. (1981). Model migration schedules. Research Report RR-81-30. Laxenburg, Austria: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogerson, P. A. (1990). Migration analysis using data with time intervals of differing widths. Papers of the Regional Science Association, 68, 97–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stillwell, J., Bell, M., Blake, M., Duke-Williams, O., & Rees, P. (2000).A comparison of net migration flows and migration effectiveness in Australia and Britain: Part 1, total migration patterns. Journal of Population Research, 17(1), 17–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2000). World population monitoring 1999: Population growth, structure and distribution. Population Division, ST/ESA/SER A/183, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2008). Principles and recommendations for population and housing censuses, revision 2. Statistical papers Series M No. 67/Rev.2 ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/67/Rev.2. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2009). Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development. 2009 Human Development Report, United Nations Development Programme, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vignoli, J. R. (2004). Migración interna en América Latina y el Caribe: Estudio regional del período 1980–2000, LC/L 2059-P, Serie Población y Desarrollo, No 50, Centro Latinoamericano y Caribeño de Demografía (CELADE, División de Población de la CEPAL), Santiago de Chile.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2009). World development report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography, Report Number 43738, Washington, DC: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrigley, N., Holt, T., Steel, D., & Tranmer, M. (1996). Analysing, modelling, and resolving the ecological fallacy. In P. Longley, & M. Batty (Eds.), Spatial analysis, modelling in a GIS Environment (pp. 23–40).Cambridge: GeoInformation International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu-Doeve, W. L. J. (2006, June 21–24). The measurement of international and internal migration in the 2010 global round of population censuses: Twelve key recommendations on questions, concepts and procedures. Paper presented at the European Population conference of the European Association for Population Studies (EAPS), Liverpool.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This chapter draws on work undertaken for the United Nations Development Programme 2009 Human Development Report Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development (see http://hdr.undp.org/en/). We are grateful for permission to utilise here some of the material assembled for that project. The majority of the data utilised here are drawn from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) maintained by the Minnesota Population Center at the University of Minnesota: we are grateful to the IPUMS team for facilitating access to these data. We also thank colleagues at the United Nations Development Programme for facilitating access to data for China and India.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, University of Queensland, Queensland, QLD, Australia

    Martin Bell

  2. Demography Program at Department of Business, Macquarie University, North Ryde-Sydney, NSW, 2113, Australia

    Salut Muhidin

Authors
  1. Martin Bell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Salut Muhidin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Bell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Fac. Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom

    John Stillwell

  2. School of Geography, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom

    Martin Clarke

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bell, M., Muhidin, S. (2011). Comparing Internal Migration Between Countries Using Courgeau’s k . In: Stillwell, J., Clarke, M. (eds) Population Dynamics and Projection Methods. Understanding Population Trends and Processes, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8930-4_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation