VOTING WITH ONES FEET - AN EMPIRICAL-ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC-WELFARE AND MIGRATION OF THE AMERICAN-INDIAN, 1985-1990

Unemployment on Indian reservations averages close to 45 percent, and welfare in its various forms is a more significant source of income for reservation inhabitants than employment. Given these circumstances and given the very low levels of human capital possessed by the American Indian population, there is reason to expect that higher welfare benefit levels would be attractive to Indian migrants. Based on 1990 Census data, this study empirically finds that, over the 1985-1990 period, American Indians, when making migration decisions, exhibited a strong preference for higher welfare areas. This finding lends support to the Tiebout hypothesis of ''voting with one's feet'' and provides support as well for the establishment of uniform real welfare levels across states.