Spatial Structure of Youth Migration in Indonesia: Does Education Matter?

Abstract

It is broadly understood that migration works in a selective way, particularly by age and education. However, little is known about the variation of the spatial structures of migration by educational background. Using migration data from Indonesia’s 2000 and 2010 population censuses, this study examined the education-specifc youth migration fows in Indonesia by highlighting interactions between origin and destination regions and examining factors contributing to the migration structure. Strong interactions were found amongst regions located in the same island or in close geographic proximity for all education levels. More dispersed patterns of origin–destination pairs were observed in tertiary-educated migration structure. The efects of economic opportunities appear to have had more pronounced efect in the migration structure of the least educated group. The fndings highlight the increasing importance of rural areas in highly educated migration fows and the greater attractiveness of more developed regions for the lower educated migration structure. The spatial structures of education-specifc youth migration fows reinforce the wide inequality gap in education and employment opportunities across regions in Indonesia. Show more