Migration and Status Attainment Among Norwegian Men

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between geographical and social mobility by examming the marginal contnbutions of migration to occupational status and income. The analysis is based on a sample of more than 22,000 Norwegian men aged 30 to 36 years in 1980 taken from the Norwegian Census Sample, a public-use sample from the 1960, 1970, and the 1980 censuses. Variables representing distance of migration and a taxonomy of migration paths are added to baseline human capital regression models for occupational prestige and income. The findings indicate that the type of labour market of destination as well as the distance of migration make a difference in terms of status attainment. Urban destinations, and/ or long-distance migration , give gains of two to three points in occupational prestige and 10-16 per cent in income compared to remaming in rural areas. The most rewarding path is long-distance, urban to urban migration.