Post-Migration Commuting Behavior among Urban to Rural Migrants in England and Wales, 2001

Tony Champion, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
David L. Brown, Cornell University
Mike Coombes, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

England and Wales have experienced urban to rural migration and population redistribution since 1931, but the interrelationship between urban-rural migration and commuting is not well understood. Many scholars have observed that rural areas in developed nations lack sufficient job opportunities to fully utilize their resident workforces. Not surprisingly, then, research indicates that commuting prevalence and distance have increased recently among rural workers. Moreover, in-movement of urban migrants is expected to exacerbate already tight rural labor markets and result in even higher out-commuting rates. We use controlled access microdata from the 2001 UK Census to examine commuting behavior among employed persons who moved from urban to rural areas. We model individual and community level determinants of variability in commuting prevalence and distance, and how these relationships differ for persons who live in different types of rural areas.