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Staying or leaving? The effects of university availability on educational choices and rural depopulation

Lovén, Ida LU ; Hammarlund, Cecilia LU and Nordin, Martin LU (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.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
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}},
}