On the move: explaining migration patterns in Estonia during the transition period

Abstract

Contrary to the indications of official statistics, recent research suggests that internal migration in Estonia may in fact be predominantly urban-bound. Applying a loosely structurationist approach to analyse sample survey data collected in 1997, this paper attempts to explore why urban areas are attractive as a destination, and why many migrants moving to urban areas, unlike those leaving for the countryside, fail to register. Differential urban–rural and regional development are the important factors helping to explain the nature and direction of migratory flows in Estonia during the transition period, while the (partial) removal of constraints operating in urban housing markets facilitates the decision to move. As for non-registration of residential relocation, the practice is mostly associated with migrants aged 35 or below. This is a group that, for a variety of reasons, has a rather special standing with respect to access to, and ownership of, residential property. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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