The effects of poverty and income inequality on internal migration: An analysis on Türkiye

Throughout history, people have migrated primarily to meet their basic needs and for better living conditions. This movement constitutes the phenomenon of migration and manifests itself in the form of rural to urban, urban to urban and urban to rural areas. It is seen that security and then economic factors are effective in the migration decision of individuals. Individuals earn income in order to continue their lives in a manner befitting human dignity. With the development of industry and technology, better earning opportunities have been opened to individuals. While living conditions have improved on the one hand, the number of those who cannot reach these conditions has increased day by day. In this study, economic factors other than the social, cultural and individual behaviors of individuals have been taken into consideration. In this study, the effects of poverty and income inequality on internal migration were examined using panel data analysis method using data from 2014-2022 for the Level-2 regions of Turkey. The dependent variable was urban-to-urban migration data in the regions in question. The independent variables were GDP, population, unemployment rate, equivalent household individual income Gini coefficient and poverty rate data. Migration movements from each region to other regions were interpreted separately in six different models. As a result of this study, which aims to contribute to the literature in terms of the period, region and variables used, it was concluded that the distance between regions negatively affects the decision of individuals to migrate from city to city. According to another result obtained in the study, while the increase in GDP negatively affects migration for the region that sends migrants, the increase in GDP of the region that receives migrants positively affects migration. On the other hand, poverty does not mean anything for the region that sends migrants, while the increase in poverty in the region that receives migrants negatively affects migration. The increase in unemployment rates has a negative effect on migration, while the increase in population has a positive effect on migration. Finally, it was concluded that the Gini coefficient of the equivalent household individual income positively affects migration for the migrant-receiving region.