Replacement income, duration of unemployment and the migration of unemployed prime age males

Abstract

The relationship between the interstate migration of unemployed males of prime working age (i.e, 25–44 years of age), the level of unemployment replacement income and the duration of unemployment spells is addressed through the use of a relatively untapped data source – the US Census's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The rich set of details that are provided in this database allows a more precise empirical analysis of the above relationships than has been possible with PSID, CPS and other previously used databases. By restricting the sample to a relatively, homogeneous segment of the work force its is possible to isolate better the effects of unemployment replacement income and job search duration on the migration decision of unemployed workers without the confounding effects of the variety of demographic factors that previous studies have shown to influence labour force migration. The results suggest that for unemployed prime working age males, the probability of migration is negativel...