Migration in the south east of England: An analysis of the interrelationship of housing, socio-economic status and labour demand

Bonnar D. M. (1979) Migration in the south east of England: an analysis of the relationship between housing, socio-economic status and labour demand, Reg. Studies 13, 345–359. Using unpublished data from the 1966 census, socio-economic and tenurial features of long- and short-distance migration are examined; the relationship between migration and changes in the spatial pattern of labour demand are considered. The problems of applying the conventional theoretical distinction between labour migration and residential mobility are highlighted—particularly for understanding the relationship between migration and urban development. A significant determinant of the labour market relationships of migration, in this regard, is to be found in the distinction between the processes of centralisation and decentralisation. It is suggested that, in the study period, the housing market exerted a significant frictional effect on the response of migration to labour demand changes in the south east of England.