Intermetropolitan Migration in Canada: Changing Determinants over Three Decades

Raj S. Gandhi is a professor of sociology at the University of Calgary.

The central theme of the book revolves around the idea that the influence of traditional market variables on migration, such as wages, unemployment, and cost of living, has diminished over time. This is attributed to a “crowding out” process whereby higher standards of living and the pursuit of leisure may have dampened the response of migrants to labor market forces; growth of social security programs has cushioned the effects of, say, unemployment and thus motivation to migrate for work; and fiscal policies have exerted unintended effects.

Shaw divides his book into six chapters. Each chapter has an introduction at the outset and summary at the end. In presenting theory, hypothesis, and variables as well as objectives and methodology, the author succeeds in studying the changing effects of traditional market versus fiscal variables over a relatively long period of time. It is also the first study of migration in Canada to evaluate determinants of gross flows between relatively homogeneous Census Metropolitan Area labor markets. By relating findings to a broad and often complex literature, by reviewing studies in both Canada and the United States, and by taking stock of important methodological issues, the book broadens its scope and becomes more interesting to specialists and students of migration in economics, sociology, geography, demography, and regional and urban studies.