Cumulative inertia or cumulative stress? Migration behaviour of Finnish graduates

Abstract

An interesting yet largely unstudied question regarding labour migration behaviour and residence duration is whether migration becomes more or less likely over time. This paper analyses the determinants of residence duration for Finnish graduates. Our results affirm the importance of cumulative inertia as a determinant of migration. The longer a person stays in a region, the smaller are the hazard rates of migration. However, for those graduates who moved to a new region during their year of graduation, the propensity for repeat migration is particularly high during their first three years of residence.