SELF-EMPLOYMENT INCOME AND U.S. MIGRATION NETWORKS: IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP?
Open Access
- Author:
- Schaeffer, Lucas
- Graduate Program:
- Agricultural Economics and Demography
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- March 28, 2011
- Committee Members:
- Stephan J Goetz, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Stephan J Goetz, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Leif Jensen, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- entrepreneurship
self-employment income
migration
networks
entropy
U.S. counties
knowledge flow - Abstract:
- Self-employment has been an important driver of economic growth throughout the United States in preceding decades. Even though there are a greater number of self-employed within the economy, it has become relatively less profitable to own a business when compared to paid employment. Domestic migration, or the movement of population from one county to another within the United States, is another strong force that is shaping population change and regional economic development. Researchers have examined how domestic migration influences economic growth; however, no one has examined how it may relate to self-employment income success within the U.S. I draw upon inferences from migration, entrepreneurship, and social network theories to develop a model to test the relationship between domestic migration and self-employment income growth. Using migration flow data from 3,047 U.S. counties for the years 1995-2000, I find that high volumes of migration per capita from a county are not related to self-employment income growth from 2000 to 2007, although there is an inverse relationship between large inflows and growth. When including a variable that measures the diversity of a county’s migration network (entropy), I find that the expansiveness of a network is positively associated with self-employment returns, especially within the most rural of counties. The diversity of migration networks is a more important determinant of entrepreneurs’ success throughout the U.S. when compared strictly to the volume of migration flows. These findings have important implications for regional economic development, especially for rural areas that are experiencing large outmigration flows. If the migration network flowing out of or into rural areas is diverse, the self-employed are more likely to ear n more than if the migration network is more homogeneous.