A FURTHER LOOK AT RETURN MIGRATION RATES UNDER THE EMPLOYMENT TRANSFER SCHEME IN BRITAIN*
| Author | P. B. Beaumont |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1977.tb00077.x |
| Date | 01 March 1977 |
| Published date | 01 March 1977 |
British Journal
of
Industrial Relations
Vol.
XV
No.
I
RESEARCH
NOTE
A FURTHER
LOOK
AT RETURN MIGRATION RATES UNDER THE
EMPLOYMENT TRANSFER SCHEME IN BRITAIN*
P.
B. BEAUMONT?
INTRODUCTION
ONE
of the major criteria for assessing the impact and effectiveness of policies
of
assisted labour mobility involves establishing what percentage of the original
relocatees adjust successfully to their new work and social environment with the
result that they remain employed in the demand area for at least
a
minimum
specified period of time.
A
previous paper set out the results of a preliminary
investigation of this all-important question for the Employment Transfer Scheme
(henceforth referred to as the E.T.S.) in Britain.’ The findings presented there for
six employment exchanges
in
Scotland suggested
an
average return migration rate
of some
25
per
cent of the original group
of
movers, although considerable inter-
area variation existed around the average.
The aim
of
this paper is to present further evidence
on
the size and timing
of
return migration moves under the scheme specifically with a view to overcoming a
number of limitations which existed
in
the previous analysis. This is achieved by
the introduction of the following new factors in this paper:
(1)
The analysis here is based on a new and much larger body of data than
before. The data set utilised in this paper covers the post-relocation
employment position of just under
890
assisted migrants to ten leading
destination area exchanges in both Scotland and England. This figure
represents something like
25
per cent of the total number of Scottish
migrants assisted under the E.T.S. during the relevant study period.
In
addition, the data set has no missing observations; this was a problem
in
the previous paper and has plagued a number
of
American studies of this
questiom2
(2)
The previous paper dealt almost exclusively with intra-regional migrants,
but as psychic costs and imperfect labour market information (which build
uncertainty and risk into any migration decision) may be
a
positive func-
tion of the distance moved,3 then return migration rates
for
intra-regional
movers may be considerably below those for inter-regional movers. This is
a hypothesis capable of examination here as the new data relates to both
intra and inter-regional migrants.
(3)
In
order to properly define ‘a successful relocation’ the definition must con-
tain a specific time dimension, i.e. there must be a minimum duration of
residence necessary in the destination area before
a
move qualifies as being
successful.
In
the earlier paper we suggested that the return migration flows
were overwhelmingly concentrated in the first twelve weeks after the
original move. The basis for this suggested figure was the anecdotal
evidence of local employment exchange officers responsible for administer-
ing the E.T.S. and the ‘last contact’ entries
on
a number of the relocatees
employment exchange files. There was clearly a need, however, to provide
a more rigorous, in-depth analysis of the timing
of
the return moves, as
*
1
am grateful to
Professor
L.
C.
Hunter for helpful discussion
on
a number
of
points raised in
t
Department
of
Social and Economic Research, University of Glasgow.
this paper.
All
responsibility for the content, however,
is
mine
alone.
108
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