Old but gold: The use of multiregional life tables and the place-of-birth-dependent approach for studying recent internal migration in Italy

Abstract

There has been a significant shift in migratory behavior within Italy over time. The origins and destinations of the migration flows, which were previously characterized by a clear prevalence of moving from the south to the center-north, are now much more heterogeneous and complex. Despite the important progress achieved in the past 20 years, the measurement of internal migration remains a contentious topic in international research. Using data provided by the Italian National Institute of Statistics, we applied Rogers’ multiregional model place-of-birth-dependent approach to assess the internal migration flows that occurred in Italy in the period 2002 – 2013. This approach provides accurate measurements of internal migration, noting in particular the years of life expectancy for each birth cohort living in each geographical Italian macroregion (northeast, northwest, center, and south). The results indicate that the northwest is the main area of destination for internal migration. The birth cohort in the south is the one that has the greatest number of years of life expectancy in other macroregions. Interestingly, this cohort is the only one characterized by a predominantly male migratory model.