Duration-of-Residence Analysis of Internal Migration in the United States

Abstract

collection and analysis of new types of data, as well as by further analysis of the existing types of data. Much effort can be profitably devoted to the development of new approaches to available data. (1, 2) Nevertheless, many of the questions we may pose about internal migration cannot be answered by analysis of the census data or the Current Population Survey annual residential mobility series. New types of migration data are needed, based on additional migration questions. This paper discusses the migration information provided by a question on duration of residence, and presents the first national migration data derived from this approach. Comparisons of current residence with residence at a fixed previous time, as in the migration questions in the 1940 and 1950 censuses and in the CPS, overlook multiple (including circular) migrations by individuals. From decennial censuses can be derived estimates only of net migration. Both approaches are thus directly concerned with population redistributions, and only inferentially with specific moves. Both approaches permit the delineation of some of those persons who have made at least one move, but do not differentiate the migration experiences of the great majority who have the same residence at one, five, or ten-year intervals. The duration-of-residence approach, on the other hand, provides direct information on a portion of the actual migration history of each individual. The duration of residence represents the length of time since the last move. Duration-of-residence data thus provide information on the latest segment of the residence history of each individual. 1 Paper read at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America,