Alessandra Faggian

Some Evidence that Women are More Mobile than Men: Gender Differences in U.K. Graduate Migration Behavior

In this paper we employ dichotomous, multinomial and conditional logit models to analyze the employment-migration behavior of some 380,000 U.K. university graduates. By controlling for a range of variables related to human capital acquisition and local economic conditions, we are able to distinguish between different types of sequential migration behavior from domicile to higher education and on to employment. Our findings indicate that U.K. female graduates are generally more migratory than male graduates. We suggest that the explanation for this result lies in the fact that migration can be used as a partial compensation mechanism for gender bias in the labor market.

Winning and losing in the creative industries: an analysis of creative graduates' career opportunities across creative disciplines

Following earlier work looking at overall career difficulties and low economic rewards faced by graduates in creative disciplines, the paper takes a closer look into the different career patterns and economic performance of “Bohemian” graduates across different creative disciplines. While it is widely acknowledged in the literature that careers in the creative field tend to be unstructured, often relying on part-time work and low wages, our knowledge of how these characteristics differ across the creative industries and occupational sectors is very limited. The paper explores the different trajectory and career patterns experienced by graduates in different creative disciplinary fields and their ability to enter creative occupations. Data from the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) are presented, articulating a complex picture of the reality of finding a creative occupation for creative graduates. While students of some disciplines struggle to find full-time work in the creative economy, for others full-time occupation is the norm. Geography plays a crucial role also in offering graduates opportunities in creative occupations and higher salaries. The findings are contextualised in the New Labour cultural policy framework and conclusions are drawn on whether the creative industries policy construct has hidden a very problematic reality of winners and losers in the creative economy.

An economic-ecological model of urban growth and urban externalities: empirical evidence from Italy

Abstract The importance of urban size for urban sustainability is well known; it plays an important role in the possibility of shaping the quality of urban living conditions. For this reason, it is important to study urban dynamics in connection with the issue of environmental quality. Moreover, awareness of the existence of cyclical patterns in urban dynamics, which we stress in this paper, can be useful for the formulation of environmental policies enabling a steady state equilibrium to be reached in terms of sustainability by flattening out the cyclical waves. A number of more quantitative models for the interpretation of urban growth has been provided; these models are related to the well-known ecological prey-predator model of Lotka–Volterra, and provide a good interpretative framework of the territorial phenomena, characterised by strong feed-back mechanisms. Recently, a pure economic model, linking the per-capita income and the urban rents has been suggested as a possible interpretative model of urban growth which is characterised by two main advantages: (a) its capacity to overcome some of the limits of the previous prey-predator models, like the necessity to apply the concept of an urban carrying capacity; (b) its pure economic feature. The present paper presents the model and the logic behind it and provides an empirical analysis of the model based on the Italian case. An econometric model is presented on the relationship between urban population growth and urban rent, based on a database of 95 Italian cities in time series from 1963 to 1996; the feedback mechanisms between the two variables emerge. This work represents the first attempt to provide an estimate of the prey-predator model based on real data.

The effect of tourism on the housing market

The aim of this chapter is to examine the way theoretical and empirical literature has looked at the effect of tourism on housing markets in resort destinations. We note that while research on tourism recognizes the effects of recreation activities on local land and housing markets, studies focusing specifically on this issue are very limited. For the purposes of the present work, we first identify the various actors/participants in housing markets and explain how they interact in the context of tourism destinations. Then, we focus on two core strands of relevant research: first, we examine the hedonic price method, as a mechanism to explore how tourism-related amenities can be “quantified” and developed into one of the variables that affect directly and indirectly (through quality-of-life considerations) house price formation in tourism destinations. In the same context, with the use of a case study, we also review an alternative way to quantify the effects of tourism, through the creation of a composite tourism index that enters directly into the house price estimation function. Second, we look at the growing literature on holiday homes and examine how demand for this type of accommodation in tourism destinations can affect the functioning of local housing markets. In this context, we examine issues of housing affordability in tourism destinations, the role of the supply side, but also the policy challenges and responses, suggested in the relevant literature.

Editorial: New Frontiers in Interregional Migration Research

Research on interregional migration has taken great strides in the last decades. Data quality has improved considerably, with micro-level data increasingly available. This has allowed researchers to link substantive background data, pertaining to a broad variety of life domains, to information on past migration trajectories, as well as current movements. Such data is now not only available for Western economies, but also for some developing and transition economies.

Human-capital migration and salaries: an examination of US college graduates: An International Perspective

This chapter is the first analysis of graduate mobility patterns in the United States with a focus on unveiling the role that inter-regional migration plays in shaping graduate salaries. By classifying graduates into five groups based on their sequential migration behaviour first from their pre-university state to college and then from college to their current job location, results reveal that most migratory individuals – that is, ‘repeat migrants’ – benefit from the highest wage premium both in terms of mean (16.3 per cent) and median salary (13.2 per cent). Results also point to other migration behaviours attracting wage premiums, although these vary according to the type of graduate. In particular, domestic graduates benefit more from return migration (an 11.3 per cent increase in mean salary) than repeat migration (10.1 per cent) possibly because of network and family effects in the state of domicile. Overall we find that migration behaviour does influence labour-market outcomes and salaries in particular. Geographical space – in this case represented by migration flows – matters, and should always be included in analyses. This study is a first step towards gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the role that migration plays in shaping the spatial distribution and dynamics of human capital across the United States. This is particularly important given that the United States is the world’s largest education market that continues to experience marked growth.

Graduate migration and regional development: an international perspective: An International Perspective

This book aims to integrate and augment current state-of-the-art knowledge on graduate migration and its role in local economic development. Comprising the key scholars working in the field, it draws together an international series of case studies on graduate migration, a recognised critical component of the global pool of labour. Each chapter describes empirically founded approaches to examining the role and characteristics of graduate migration in differing situational contexts, highlighting issues concerning government policy, data and methods.

Graduate migration in the UK: an exploration of gender dynamics and employment patterns: An International Perspective

Current research in regional science and economic geography has been placing increasing emphasis on the role played by the attraction and retention of graduates in shaping patterns of local economic development in Europe and internationally. Within this growing field of study, the patterns of migration of graduates has been explored in detail and its connection with personal benefits for the individual (higher salaries) and regional cumulative outcomes have been examined. Another trend, which has received some, although marginal, attention, is the increase in female participation and achievement in higher education. The scope of this chapter is to consider the interconnection between these two fields in graduate studies: gender and migration patterns. Using data from the 2006/07 cohort longitudinal DLHE survey, migration patterns of graduates are explored, with particular focus on gender dynamics. Graduates are classified according to their sequential migration behaviour first from their pre-university domicile to university, then from university to first job post-graduation, and finally their job 3.5 years after graduation. The chapter further focuses on the potential salary benefits of migration decisions and their difference across the two gender groups. It also explores how these migration patterns and the potential salary benefits of migration vary across different subject groups.

Geography, skills and career patterns at the boundary of creativity and innovation: digital technology and creative arts graduates in the UK

Over the last few decades there has been considerable research on knowledge economies. Within this broad field, research on the value of digital technologies and creative industries have attracted academics and policy makers because of the complexity of their development, supply chains and models of production. In particular, many have recognized the difficulty in capturing the role that digital technologies and innovation play within the creative industries. Digital technologies are embedded in the production and market structures of creative industries and are also partially distinct and discernible from them. They also seem to play a key role in innovation relating to access and delivery of creative content. The chapter explores the role played by digital technologies, focusing on a key aspect of their development and implementation: human capital. Using student micro data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) in the United Kingdom, the authors investigate the location determinants and other characteristics of graduates who enter the creative industries, specifically comparing graduates in the creative arts and graduates from digital technology subjects. They highlight patterns of geographical specialization, but also how some contexts seem better able to integrate creativity and innovation into the workforce. The chapter deals specifically with understanding whether these skills are equally embedded across the creative industries or are concentrated in specific sub-sectors. Furthermore, it explores the role that creative graduates play in each sub-sector, their financial rewards and the geographical determinants of employment outcomes.

Transport, energy and environment in Italian research and policy-making

This paper provides a brief description on the way environmental problems have been conceived in transport planning and transport development studies in Italy. The paper provides the intrinsic characteristics of the studies analysed (data, applied methodology, theoretical assumptions), and the metacharacteristics, in terms of scientific innovation and the contribution to real policy-making.