Rapid and pervasive movement of population towards the cities is one of the remarkable features of the demographic development in Korea in the recent years.
In this thesis, the determinants of geographic migration are investigated and the contributions of each determinants to migration are analyzed.
The basic premise of this study is that migration is a decision of each individual to maximize the expected rate of return to investment in human capital. Under this premise, model which can explain the magnitude of out-to-inmigration ratio is built and tested with the data for each kuns and cities for 1977.
The variables hypothesized as determinants of the magnitude of out-to-inmigration ratio are grouped into 4 categories. They are income differentials, investments in human capital, demographic characteristics and geographic variables.
According to regression analysis, the hypotheses about the effect of income differentials, education opportunities and geographic variables on the out-to-inmigration ratio are accepted. However, investment in health and some demographic variables such as age, sex are not accepted as the determinants of out-to-inmigration with our data. Micro studies about the individual migrants are recommended.
Per cent of farming population, income differentials, number of persons per household and age composition are revealed as the most important factors determining the out-to-inmigration ratio.
