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Vertical mobility and community type as factors in the migration of college graduates

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Demography

Resumen

Las estadísticas de migración interna son generalmente inadecuadas. Una de las principales razones es la falta de datos directos relativos a la migración. Parece que también hay falta de interés por parte de los investigadores en emprender el estudio de las relaciones entre la movilidad vertical y la migración. Este estudio está diseñado para determinar la importancia relativa de la movilidad vertical intergeneracional y el tipo de comunidad o lugar de origen, como contribuyentes a la migración de graduados universitarios, utilizando datos directos de movilidad y migración.

La muestra de estudio consiste en 850 empleados hombres graduados de ocho universidades privadas en Iowa entre 1954 y 1958. Los datos fueron obtenidos a través de las universidades y consistieron, entre otras cosas, en información sobre la ocupación de los padres, ocupación de los graduados, y la dirección de estos al momento de matricularse y al momento del estudio. La información acerca de las comunidades o lugares de origen se dicotomizó sobre la base de si estaban localizadas en Areas Metropolitanas Standard (SMA) en 1950 o si estaban localizados en áreas que no eran Metropolitanas Standard (NSMA). La movilidad vertical es tratada como un producto de la educación superior y como un antecedente de migración.

Se probó las hipótesis que aseveraban la existencia de asociaciones entre movilidad y migración y entre el tipo de comunidad o lugar de origen y migración. Se estableció asociaciones que mostraban (1) que los graduados con movilidad ascendente tenían más probabilidades de migrar que otros y (2) que los graduados de Areas no Metropolitanas Standard (NSMA) migraban más que los graduados de Areas Metropolitanas Standard (MSA).

La influencia relativa de los dos factores es determinada examinando las asociaciones entre cada uno de esios factores y la migración, mientras se mantenía constante el otro factor. Se encontró que el tipo de comunidad o lugar de origen era de mayor importancia para la miqración que la movilidad ascendente. Los graduados de NSMA son más proclives a migrar que aquellos de las SMA, independientemente de su movilidad relativa. Los graduados de las SMA tienen tendencia a migrar únicamente si demuestran movilidad ascendente.

Summary

Internal migration statistics are generally inadequate. One of the chief sources of this is the lack of direct data relating to migration. There appears also to be a lack of interest on the part of researchers in pursuing the study of the relationship between vertical mobility and migration. This study is designed to determine the relative importance of intergenerational vertical mobility and type of community or place of origin in contributing to the migration of college graduates by using direct mobility and migration data.

The study sample consists of 850 employed male graduates of eight private colleges in Iowa between 1954 and 1958. Data were obtained through the colleges and consist, among other things, of information about fathers’ occupations, graduates’ occupations, and the addresses of graduates both at matriculation and at the time of the study. Information about communities or places of origin is dichotomized on the basis of whether they are located in Standard Metropolitan Areas (SMA’s) in 1950 or whether they are located in non-SMA’s (NSMA’s). Upward mobility is treated as a product of higher education and as an antecedent of migration.

Hypotheses asserting the existence of associations between mobility and migration and between type of community or place of origin and migration are tested. Associations are established showing (1) that upwardly mobile graduates are more likely to migrate than others and (2) that graduates from NSMA’s are more likely to migrate than graduates from SMA’s.

The relative influence of the two factors is determined by partialing the associations between each factor and migration while holding the other factor constant. Type of community or place of origin is found to be of greater importance for migration than is upward mobility. Graduates from NSMA’s are more likely to migrate than those from SMA’s, regardless of their relative mobility. Graduates from SMA’s are likely to migrate only if they are also upwardly mobile.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gustavus Adolphus College, USA

    John W. Prehn

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  1. John W. Prehn
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Prehn, J.W. Vertical mobility and community type as factors in the migration of college graduates. Demography 4, 283–292 (1967). https://doi.org/10.2307/2060369

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