Interregional migration models with source and interaction information.

Abstract

The importance of information flows in models of migration is emphasized. In particular, migrants are assumed to react to two types of information about job vacancies. 'Interaction information' may be defined as interpersonal communication between recent migrants and their former neighbors or friends, and 'source information' represents a direct flow of information from employers or agencies to individuals. Models are developed that investigate the effects of various communication rates and information retention levels on vacancy and labor-force population trajectories. It is found that attempts by planners to reduce regional inequities in vacancy rates through controlled advertising may be successful, but at the possible cost of increasing temporal fluctuations of regional vacancy rates.-Authors