Inter-Regional Migration in Transition Economies: The Case of Poland

In this paper, we modify the Harris-Todaro model of migration to incorporate the impact of human capital, housing stock and the availability of publicly provided goods like health care and road provision in order to analyse the determinants of migration in different regions of Poland. We apply the Seemingly Unrelated Regression Equation [SURE] model to investigate the data. Our results show that GDP per capita, unemployment and distance have a strong effect on regional migration in this country. Human capital is also an important explanatory factor as is the provision of key publicly provided facilities such as roads. The lack of housing in Poland is important in explaining the low levels of internal migration. JEL Classification: F 22, O15, J61.