ABSTRACT.We examine the inter-regional migration of university graduates from 1991-2003 in Finland. The results show that time matters: two-years before and during the graduation year the hazard rates of migration increase, and then decrease thereafter.Although university graduates are particularly mobile, we find that most of them do not move from their region of studies within ten years after graduation. The out-migration, i.e., brain drain, is much higher among graduates in the more peripheral universities than in the growth centers (Helsinki in particular). Migration is also substantially more likely for those studying away from the home region than for those studying at home.

While there is typically a strong correlation between air traffic and economic growth, the direction of causation between the two is not clear. To address the existence of causality in this paper we consider the nature of this relationship in different types of regions. The empirical analysis is based on European-level annual data from eighty-six regions and thirteen countries on air traffic and regional economic performance in the period 1991 to 2010. Granger noncausality analysis in a panel framework, which allows possible heterogeneity between regions, was used. The results suggest that the causality processes are homogenous from regional growth to air traffic. There is causality from air traffic to regional growth in peripheral regions, but this causality is less evident in core regions. Thus, air transportation plays a crucial role in boosting development in remote regions. There might, therefore, be a case for subsidizing local airports in these regions.

Abstract. Previous research has shown that the local environment is important for selfemployment. The dynamics of self-employment varies between areas characterized by different labour market conditions, entrepreneurial traditions and other structural factors. This paper analyzes self-employment spells in Finland with a large register-based data set from the period 1987-2002. The main aim is to investigate the role of region-specific factors as compared with individual-specific and other factors on the duration of self-employment spells. First, the descriptive analysis shows that the exit rates from self-employment and the length of self-employment spells depend upon location (urban vs. rural area) and the cyclical trends in the economy. Second, self-employment duration is modelled using discrete time survival analysis. It is found that rural areas have significantly lower exit rates in the first years of self-employment than urban areas.

Niittykangas H. and Tervo H. (2005) Spatial variations in intergenerational transmission of self‐employment, Regional Studies 39 , 319–332. Intergenerational transfers of human and non‐human capital may motivate children to follow their self‐employed parent. This paper analyses occupational inheritance among self‐employed families in Finland. Longitudinal micro data from 1970–99 are exploited. The sample consists of children aged 0–14 years in 1970. The results show that having an entrepreneurial family background strengthens the probability of entering self‐employment. The results confirm the notion of the importance of the local environment for self‐employment. They also offer some evidence for the hypothesis that intergenerational transmission of self‐employment is an explanation for spatial differences in self‐employment.Self‐employment, Intergenerational transfer, Spatial differences, Micro data, Logit analysis, Finland, Travail indépendant, Transmission entre les générations, Variation géographique, Données microéconomiques, Analyse logit, Finlande, Freiberufliche, Tätigkeit, Vererbung von einer, Generation zur andern, Mikrodaten räumlicher, Unterschiede, Logitanalyse, Finnland, Empleo autónomo, Traspaso inter‐generacional, Diferencias espaciales, Datos micro, Análisis logit, Finlandia, JEL classifications: J23, J24, J62, M13,

Abstract. This paper analyses the role of regional unemployment on self-employment. The paper argues that family background separates individuals with respect to the effect of unemployment. The empirical analysis is based on data on a sample of Finnish residents aged 0-14 years in 1970 whose subsequent employment is examined. The results show that high unemployment in a region pushes individuals from self-employed families into self-employment, while it has the opposite effect on individuals from wage earner families. The push effect seems to work only among those individuals who already have entrepreneurial skills through their family background.