ERIC Number: ED218395
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1980-Aug-21
Pages: 22
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Return Migration and Status Attainment among Southern Blacks. A Research Note. Revised.
Li, Wen Lang; Randolph, Sheron L.
Recent trends indicate that the traditional pattern of South to North migration has shifted toward a counterstream movement back to the South. This trend has been particularly characteristic of Southern blacks. To examine this development, data on a sample of blacks in the 1970 United States census were analyzed by comparing individual and socioeconomic characteristics of southern black nonmigrants (persons who resided in the South during 1965-70), return migrants (those who migrated North and lived there in 1965 but returned South and became residents as of 1970), and nonreturn migrants (those who migrated North and remained residents through 1970). The study found that among Southern blacks: 1) return migrants were generally younger than nonmigrants and nonreturn migrants; 2)migrants had higher educational levels than nonmigrants; 3) return migrants had lower employment levels than nonmigrants; and 4) nonreturn migrants had the highest average income, while return migrants had lower incomes than nonmigrants. The unexpectedly lower socioeconomic levels of return migrants compared to nonmigrants (considering educational attainments) did not support the prevailing assumption that investments in education and migration are expected to raise earnings and suggested that return migrants do not behave according to the "rational model" postulated by economists. (Author/MJL)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A