Cannot keep up with the Joneses: how relative deprivation pushes internal migration in Austria
International Journal of Social Economics
ISSN: 0306-8293
Article publication date: 10 November 2021
Issue publication date: 12 January 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Using aggregated data at the municipality level allows the authors to assess the role of relative deprivation (RD) – a measure of income inequality – on top of absolute income in shaping internal migration in Austria.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors analyse the effect of regional income inequality on emigration rates of Austrian municipalities using a unique spatial dataset that is constructed based on Austrian administrative register data. The register-based data contain information on the municipality of residence of all individuals aged 16 and over that have their main residency in Austria, as well as their income and socio-demographic characteristics.
Findings
The authors find that increases in relative deprivation in a municipality are related to higher emigration from the municipality. Allowing for heterogeneous effects across income, education and age groups reveals that the effect is stronger among those with comparably low levels of income and among low-skilled and young individuals.
Originality/value
The unique spatially disaggregated perspective is based on novel data from Austrian administrative registers, which comprehensively capture the economic situation and geographic movements of the whole Austrian population. Most importantly, this approach allows for measuring income inequality within local communities and for a direct identification of social groups that are more sensitive to inequality.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Jubilee Fund and the Magistrate 23 (MA 23) of the City of Vienna for financial support. The authors are further grateful to Manuela Lenk, Sophie König and Eva-Maria Asamer (Statistics Austria) for their continuous support throughout this project. Furthermore, the authors would like to show gratitude to Oded Stark, Branko Milanović and participants at the WU workshop on Global Inequality and two anonymous reviewers for their very valuable and helpful comments and suggestions. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the OeNB or the Eurosystem.
Citation
Jestl, S., Moser, M. and Raggl, A.K. (2022), "Cannot keep up with the Joneses: how relative deprivation pushes internal migration in Austria", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 49 No. 2, pp. 210-231. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-03-2021-0181
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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