Family Networks and Urban Out-Migration in the Brazilian Amazon

Heather F. Randell, Brown University
Leah K. VanWey, Brown University

As urbanization rates rise globally, it becomes increasingly important to understand the factors associated with urban out-migration. Migrant network theory argues that family and community networks reduce the costs of migration, acting as sources of information and resources to a potential migrant. Despite the growing role that cities play in generating internal population flows, the majority of research on migrant networks continues to focus on international or rural-to-urban migration. We examine the relationship between family networks and urban out-migration among young adults in two medium-sized cities in the Brazilian Amazon. We focus on sibling migration, using an event history model to examine the role of sibling migration on an individual's risk of migration, a multinomial logit model to investigate the relationship between an individual’s destination choice and the location of his or her siblings, and a binary logit model to examine individual-level factors associated with being the first migrant sibling within a household.