Using the Community Capitals Framework to Conceptualize Drivers of Migration: A Quantitative Analysis of County-Level, Rural-Urban, and Age-Specific Trends in the United States
Restricted (Penn State Only)
Author:
Alford, Katrina
Graduate Program:
Rural Sociology (PHD)
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
May 25, 2023
Committee Members:
Guangqing Chi, Major Field Member Leif Jensen, Chair & Dissertation Advisor Stephen Matthews, Outside Unit & Field Member Brian Thiede, Major Field Member
Keywords:
Community Capitals Migration Rural migration Elderly migration
Abstract:
Migration is one of the fundamental demographic processes and is arguably the one with the greatest immediate impact on the population composition of localities. Because of this, understanding migration, and specifically drivers of migration, has been a central goal in demographic research. Theorists such as Lee (1966) and Van Hear et al. (2018) draw attention to push- and pull-factors of migration, aiding our understanding in what brings people to or drives people away from specific places of residence. Drivers of migration vary depending on place-based contexts and include economic, social, political, and environmental factors. Bridging frameworks from rural sociology and demography, this research utilizes Flora and Flora’s (2013) Community Capitals Framework (CCF) to conceptualize and measure drivers of migration. Using county-level net migration data from Winkler et al. (2013) and other publicly available secondary data, this research assesses the association between place-based community capitals and net migration at the county level in the United States, paying specific attention to variations along the rural-urban continuum and across age groups for older Americans. The unique contributions to the literature are the development of quantitative measures of community capitals for counties nationwide and the application of the CCF to understand net migration. The findings have implications for further research on this nexus, the measurement of place-based community capitals, and community development.
