Similarity of the Spatial Patterns of Net Migration and Unemployment in Finland

Abstract

This chapter investigates the association between unemployment and net migration at a municipal level. Our aim is to unravel the temporally persistent spatial structures caused by economic development and restructuring leading to winning and losing municipalities in geographical space. The concept of spatial formation, defined empirically as the clustering of areas of similar development, is apposite as we chase uniform spatial structures brought about by economic development and its economic externalities. We concentrate on the question of how the spatial pattern of net migration is linked to unemployment and how spatially unbalanced development is born out of socio-economic conditions in Finland. The years of investigation are 2004, 2006 and 2008. Methodologically, this paper is based on autocorrelation analyses and a new similarity index. This is used to analyze the spatial patterns of net migration and unemployment, and the residuals of the mismatch of the response to differences in available job opportunities associated with migration in the context of Finnish socio-economic conditions.