Analyzing Migration Behavior From the Perspective of Kin (Dissertation)

Focusing on kinship networks can help us better understand how and why people migrate. Family ties shape individual migration decisions, and migration behaviors have important implications for individuals and families in areas of departure and arrival.

We evaluate the impact of kin networks on migration behavior. Our first objective is to describe how transnational kin networks are distributed across countries, and how they develop over time. Our second objective is to analyze the effect of the mobility of relatives on the likelihood of an individual migrating, and the different trajectories and behaviors that this individual may experience during his or her lifetime.

Richer data about individuals and their ancestors and descendants are now available thanks to the increasing availability of linked census data as well as genealogical and historical databases. This enables us to consider more generations and longer time frames. The project uses data sources that allow us to study family networks across country borders, such as genealogical data, and data sources with more complete and detailed demographic information across multiple generations, such as historical registers.

Previous studies have highlighted the role that kinship ties plays in individual decisions to move internally or internationally. However, existing research has rarely addressed how the influence of family networks on an individual’s migration behavior has evolved over time, or how the propensity to migrate is transmitted over generations. The project fills this gap by incorporating long-term analysis that covers a larger number of generations and relatives in the extended family. The project thus goes beyond the usual two-generation approach, which focuses only on the influence of parents on their offspring, by assessing the influence of siblings and more distant relatives on individual migration decisions.

Future work can build on findings from this project to gain deeper insights into migration behavior, taking into account family networks as well as their migration patterns and outcomes. The project provides insights into the consequences of migration for families and family support. It will also improve our understanding of how datasets with detailed genealogical information can be used for demographic research.