Internal Mobility, Skills and Education

This chapter documents the differences in internal mobility of labour in Europe and the US, then investigates the determinants of internal migration with a focus on the determinants of the migration of the most skilled workers. The fact that Americans or Europeans are potentially fully mobile within the boundaries of the US or the EU has important consequences on the efficiency of their skill allocation as well as on the impact of foreign skills on these economies. This chapter attempts to measure the impact of education on internal mobility in Europe and shows that education reduces the costs of migration, thus raising mobility and the efficiency of the allocation of labour. Finally, an empirical analysis of the determinants of migrations between US states between 1970 and 2000 is given.