Master Programme in Economic Demography Regional Migration in Sweden A study on the determinants of out-migration connected to Swedish municipal disparities Sofie Carlsson
[email protected] The thesis studies internal migration patterns in Sweden in respect to regional disparities between urban and rural municipalities. Sweden, with many other developed countries, is struggling with depopulation in rural regions, which in the long run can cause problems maintaining services and fundamental institutions in the municipality. As the main responsibility of municipalities is to maintain these services to uphold living standards, it is of importance to study the determinants of depopulation. Migration is a significant part of the depopulation matter, where the failure to maintain the younger population in the municipalities strips the opportunities of building a sustainable and attractive society. The aim of the thesis is to determine whether interregional migration is driven by disequilibrium mechanisms of economic opportunities and basic services between the municipalities. The purpose of the thesis is to highlight the problem of depopulation and to show migration as a part of the problem. Exploring the determinants of migration and understanding migration flows is important both in the formulation of national and regional policies to tackle the depopulation trend and to enable a more efficient policy-making process. Key words: Rural depopulation, internal migration, rural municipalities, and regional disparities. EKHM51 Master