Internal Mobility and Family Commitment of Foreigners in Italy

The internal movements of migrants are less frequently studied than international migration, although they have important labour, social, welfare and immigrant policy implications. By assuming the family as the unit of analysis, this paper examines the mechanism of selection between the foreigners who move internally and who do not, in Italy. Hypotheses are that having a family, improved economic performance, incorrect information about the first location, and discrimination, increase the propensity to move. Data come from the Italian survey “Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens” (Istat 2011–2012). Results of the models show that internal migration is positively associated with family commitment, scant knowledge of the first destination, and no welcoming network. The paper enlarges the literature by stressing the intertwines between internal and international migration and the family commitment as the main driver of internal mobility of foreigners in Italy.