This paper explicates a theoretical scheme with which to orientate research aimed at explaining various facets of migration behavior. Both aggregate and individual level approaches are subsumed within the scheme, with the so-called behavioral perspective representing an attempt to probe inside the black box that exists between a set of observed variables and overt migration. 4 major links are postulated, relating 1) observed variables to observed behavior, 2) observed or objective variables to their subjective counterparts, 3) subjective variables to an overall utility value, and 4) the overall utility value to observed behavior. Suggestions for future research include 1) recognizing the limits of single-equation regression models, 2) recognizing that results from the transformation of objective variables into their subjective counterparts are likely to vary according to methodology, 3) considering powerful methodologies such as information integration theory and conjoint analysis, and 4) appropriately modifying the relationship between the overall utility value, or preference, and overt behavior to incorporate a variety of individual and institutional level constraints.
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Martin Cadwallader (1989) studied this question.