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Networks Versus Need: Drivers of Urban Out-Migration in the Brazilian Amazon

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Abstract

As urbanization rates rise globally, it becomes increasingly important to understand the factors associated with urban out-migration. In this paper, we examine the drivers of urban out-migration among young adults in two medium-sized cities in the Brazilian Amazon—Altamira and Santarém—focusing on the roles of social capital, human capital, and socioeconomic deprivation. Using household survey data from 1,293 individuals in the two cities, we employ an event history model to assess factors associated with migration and a binary logit model to understand factors associated with remitting behavior. We find that in Altamira, migration tends to be an individual-level opportunistic strategy fostered by extra-local family networks, while in Santarém, migration tends to be a household-level strategy driven by socioeconomic deprivation and accompanied by remittances. These results indicate that urban out-migration in Brazil is a diverse social process, and that the relative roles of extra-local networks versus economic need can function quite differently between geographically proximate but historically and socioeconomically distinct cities.

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Notes

  1. We used the size of the tracts (as well as tract boundaries) from the 2007 population count. This count is an intercensal count of population that applies a short-form survey to all households to describe the population of the country and its administrative units on size and a limited set of characteristics (IBGE 2007).

  2. Only two international migrants were observed in our sample. These were excluded from the analysis.

  3. We estimated alternative models using the earliest year in which any parent arrived and using the latest year in which any parent arrived. Substantive results did not change.

  4. We estimated alternative models using the highest education completed by either parent and using the lowest education completed by either parent. Substantive results did not change.

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  1. Department of Sociology and Population Studies and Training Center, Brown University, Maxcy Hall, 108 George Street, Providence, RI, 02912, USA

    Heather F. Randell & Leah K. VanWey

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  1. Heather F. Randell
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  2. Leah K. VanWey
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Correspondence to Heather F. Randell.

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Randell, H.F., VanWey, L.K. Networks Versus Need: Drivers of Urban Out-Migration in the Brazilian Amazon. Popul Res Policy Rev 33, 915–936 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-014-9336-7

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