Staying or leaving? The effects of university availability on educational choices and rural depopulation
(2020) In Papers in Regional Science 99(5). p.1339-1365- Abstract
Universities are often viewed as engines of local economic growth that could mitigate rural depopulation. However, university studies might make individuals more prone to move. We explore this issue in a quasi-experiment arising due to a sudden reduction in the number of student places at a regional university in northern Sweden in 1998. We find that the reduction in student places affected both educational choices and long-term migration. Women studied at a university further from home and became more mobile, while men neither studied nor moved. Also, to study at a distant university had a larger impact on migration than studies nearby. This heterogeneity contributes to the understanding of how education affects migration from rural... (More)
Universities are often viewed as engines of local economic growth that could mitigate rural depopulation. However, university studies might make individuals more prone to move. We explore this issue in a quasi-experiment arising due to a sudden reduction in the number of student places at a regional university in northern Sweden in 1998. We find that the reduction in student places affected both educational choices and long-term migration. Women studied at a university further from home and became more mobile, while men neither studied nor moved. Also, to study at a distant university had a larger impact on migration than studies nearby. This heterogeneity contributes to the understanding of how education affects migration from rural areas.
(Less)
- author
- Lovén, Ida LU ; Hammarlund, Cecilia LU and Nordin, Martin LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- education, internal migration, quasi-experiment, rural population, Sweden
- in
- Papers in Regional Science
- volume
- 99
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 27 pages
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85083345281
- ISSN
- 1056-8190
- DOI
- 10.1111/pirs.12530
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 29ea64ac-7f18-4c89-91e8-e591e526d4c9
- date added to LUP
- 2020-05-07 17:52:22
- date last changed
- 2023-04-28 12:50:04
@article{29ea64ac-7f18-4c89-91e8-e591e526d4c9, abstract = {{<p>Universities are often viewed as engines of local economic growth that could mitigate rural depopulation. However, university studies might make individuals more prone to move. We explore this issue in a quasi-experiment arising due to a sudden reduction in the number of student places at a regional university in northern Sweden in 1998. We find that the reduction in student places affected both educational choices and long-term migration. Women studied at a university further from home and became more mobile, while men neither studied nor moved. Also, to study at a distant university had a larger impact on migration than studies nearby. This heterogeneity contributes to the understanding of how education affects migration from rural areas.</p>}}, author = {{Lovén, Ida and Hammarlund, Cecilia and Nordin, Martin}}, issn = {{1056-8190}}, keywords = {{education; internal migration; quasi-experiment; rural population; Sweden}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{5}}, pages = {{1339--1365}}, publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}}, series = {{Papers in Regional Science}}, title = {{Staying or leaving? The effects of university availability on educational choices and rural depopulation}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pirs.12530}}, doi = {{10.1111/pirs.12530}}, volume = {{99}}, year = {{2020}}, }