Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2015

Journal or Book Title

Economic Development Quarterly

Volume

29

Issue

1

First Page

23

Last Page

37

DOI

10.1177/0891242414559070

Abstract

Rural regions of the United States have experienced detrimental out-migration, or brain drain, of college-educated individuals. The present study used survey data, gathered with an interactive website tool containing a comprehensive collection of economic and lifestyle features, to determine those most important in migration decisions for public university graduating seniors from the rural state of Iowa. Economic features (overall cost of living and a strong local economy) were ranked as the top features, followed by lifestyle features including two surprising features (access to basic consumer goods and access to health facilities). The impact of individual differences on the likelihood of moving and the selection of desired community features was also examined and proved to be statistically significant. For instance, in comparison with female graduates, male graduates selected educational level of residents and higher percentage of nonmarried residents features more frequently. Implications for policy development and marketing and economic development strategies are discussed.

Comments

This is a manuscript of an article in Economic Development Quarterly 29 (2015): 23, doi:10.1177/0891242414559070.

Copyright Owner

Ann Marie Fiore, et al

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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