Author: Nanxin Deng

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13:

The third chapter explains the reasons for the decreasing migration flows in the United States. Migration has been viewed as critical for the flexibility of the U.S. labor market, but its role of smoothing out macroeconomic shocks has been falling in recent years (Partridge et al. 2012). This study investigates the reasons for decreasing migration flows and provides evidence for the link between dwindling migration and increasing industry mobility in the United States from 2005 to 2015. Linked to the labor search theory (Mortenson, 1986), this study illustrates how industry mobility substitute for migration flows. Empirical results suggest that industry mobility is inversely associated with out-migration rate. The role of migration for smoothing out demand shocks becomes less important in regions where industry mobility rates are high. The findings justify that the increasing industry mobility can explain the decreasing migration flows in the U.S.