Employment opportunities and internal migration flows in Iran

Hamideh Nazari, University of Yazd, Iran
Abbas Askari-Nodoushan, University of Yazd, Iran

Employment Opportunities and Internal Migration Flows in Iran Hamideh Nazari-Nodoushan? Abbas Askari-Nodoushan?? Abstract: Exiting literature suggest that migration and employment opportunities are closely interconnected. In the one hand, spatial differences in employment opportunities are one of important factors that motivated migration decision-making. On the other hand, Migration usually is a mechanism for redistribution of working- age population and existing employment opportunities in an area can influence its' population density. The object of this paper is to address the question that to what extend interprovincial migration flows in Iran influenced by employment opportunities? In other words, how differential unemployment rate across provinces shape internal migration flows in Iran? National census data during 1956-2011, has been used for examining aggregate trends in migration and employment rate of provinces. In addition 2011 census micro-data used for a detailed analysis of this relationship. Findings indicate a direct relation between net migration of provinces and their unemployment rate. Provinces with lower unemployment rate are migration-receiving and those with higher unemployment rate are migration-sending provinces. Of 30 provinces of Iran, 12 provinces including Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Mazandaran, Razavi Khorasan, Golestan, Gillan, Ghom, Boushehr, Semnan, Markazi, and Ghazvin have a positive net migration. Tehran has highest and Ghazvin has lowest positive net migration. Other 18 remaining provinces have a negative net migration rate.