Migration and regional centralization of human capital

The objective of the study is to analyse relationship between migration and the regional redistribution of human capital. The analysis follows the human capital approach that considers migration as a result of rational decision making and a utility maximization process. The emphasis is on the decision making of a potential migrant. The migration decision is assumed to be the outcome of personal, household and regional characteristics. The results of the study indicate the following. First, it supports the generally accepted hypothesis that the highly educated are more prone to move than the rest of the population. Second, the regional characteristics of both the origin area and the destination area also have a significant effect on migratory behaviour. Individuals are more likely to migrate from remote regions to centres of economic activity. Third, as a result of two previous findings, reallocation of human capital seems to be taking place in Finland.