Psychological and Behavioral Predictors of Rural In‐migration

Abstract

In recent times, many studies have been conducted to understand those who migrate to rural areas. However, few have investigated the psychological and behavioral factors that affect people's decisions to migrate to rural areas. This study identifies the psychological and behavioral factors that have been suggested in the psychology literature and in rural studies as factors affecting people's decision to move to rural areas. The study is unique in that it categorizes the psychological states during the process of rural migration decision into three levels and identifies how psychological and behavioral factors affect people at each level. Researchers collected data from 906 respondents in Japan, including 128 people who had migrated to rural areas. The findings show that environmental and health concerns were significantly associated with initiating the procedure of the rural migration decision, while motives related to spiritual growth and employment were strongly connected with completing the procedure by actually migrating to rural areas. These findings contribute to a better understanding of a question that attracts a great deal of political attention in Japan: Why are rural areas gaining popularity especially after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011? This study represents the first time that the importance of psychological and behavioral traits, as measured by psychometrically sound scales, has been confirmed within a model explaining the decision to migrate to rural areas.

Low-quality or high-quality coal? Household energy choice in rural Beijing

“…Environmental concerns consist of two types of measurement: global and local environmental concerns (Nakagawa, 2017). According to Nakagawa (2017), global environmental concern is measured by 12 questions (see table 2).…”

“…Environmental concerns consist of two types of measurement: global and local environmental concerns (Nakagawa, 2017). According to Nakagawa (2017), global environmental concern is measured by 12 questions (see table 2). Apart from the 11 questions applied in Nakagawa (2017), one more question of concern on global warming is added, since the burning of fossil fuel leads to global warming problem and we are interested in how households are concerned about coal consumption and its association to global warming.…”

“…According to Nakagawa (2017), global environmental concern is measured by 12 questions (see table 2). Apart from the 11 questions applied in Nakagawa (2017), one more question of concern on global warming is added, since the burning of fossil fuel leads to global warming problem and we are interested in how households are concerned about coal consumption and its association to global warming. Each question is 5 point scale: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree and 5 = strongly agree.…”

The lawn grew too quickly! Perception of rural idyll by Czech amenity migrants

“…After all, the complex perception of rurality is largely based on urban and rural comparisons (Lošťák & Hudečková 2003). Environmental feature is, however, only partial factor influencing the migration decision (Nakagawa 2018), the role of more subjective factors such as very positive perception of rural space labelled as rural idyll might form the migration behaviour (Stockdale 2014). Local impacts of migrants can be examined within the social, economic and environmental spheres.…”

Migration Across Metro‐Nonmetro Boundaries and Hourly Wages☆

“…However, rural communities suffer when young adults leave. At the same time, migration and return to nonmetro areas may positively influence these communities by providing needed human capital and employment opportunities, strengthening the community, and attracting investment (Bijker et al 2015; Nakagawa 2018; Stockdale and MacLeod 2013; von Reichert et al 2014). To clarify the potential conflicts between individual attainment and community wellbeing, this article examines the following prediction:…”