Effects of internal migration on the human settlements system in Latin America and the Caribbean

The gradual abatement of rural-urban migration in Latin America and the Caribbean is leading to growing prevalence of migration between cities, a phenomenon about which little theory or empirical studies have been developed in the region. Accordingly, this work uses census microdata —the only source available in the region for estimating migration between cities— from a dozen countries to: (i) estimate the recent evolution of this migration using categories based on cities’ population size (including a residual category that groups municipalities without cities); (ii) estimate the effect of this migration on the composition by sex, age, and education level of these categories of city, and (iii) evaluate in a general and preliminary manner the two-way links between the socioeconomic conditions of cities and the magnitude and effects of migration.