Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/229216 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2019/113
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Traditional economic models predict rural to urban migration during the structural transformation of an economy. In middle-income countries, it is less clear which direction of migration to expect. In this paper I show that in Brazil as many people move out of as into metropolitan cities, and they mostly move to mid-sized towns. I estimate the determinants of out-migrants' destination choice, accounting for differences in earnings, living costs, and amenities, and I test whether the migrants gain economically by accepting lower wages but enjoying lower living costs. The findings suggest that the destination choice of out-migrants minimizes the costs of moving. On average, city-leavers realize higher real wages, including lowskilled migrants who would lose out in nominal terms. The paper thus provides evidence on economic incentives to leave big cities in a middle-income country.
Subjects: 
Brazil
internal migration
prices
secondary towns
JEL: 
J61
R23
C35
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-749-1
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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