European Emigration, 1815-1930: Looking at the Emigration Decision Again

Many of the explanations offered for European emigration are unsystematic because they fail to address the relative incidence of emigration from different parts of Europe. An attempt is made to evaluate implicit assumptions in the literature. Two other questions are discussed: the relation between internal migration in European countries and emigration and the higher rate of return migration to southern than to northern European countries. There are some suggestions for future research. (EXCERPT)