Personal and location-specific characteristics and elderly interstate migration.

"The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of locational and individual characteristics upon interstate retiree migration, particularly in state-level public policy variables. Data regarding the characteristics of individual movers are drawn from the 1990 U.S. Census of Population and Housing 5% Public Use Microdata Sample. The household data are merged with location-specific attributes including both natural amenities and local fiscal variables." Three alternative models are developed, involving push factors, pull factors, and differences in site characteristics experienced by migrants. "The results indicate that both personal and locational characteristics are important factors determining the decision of elderly migrants to change their state of residence. While there is some limited support for the push and pull specifications, the difference model is found to provide the best overall fit." excerpt