Determinants of fast repeat migrations of the labor force: evidence from the linked national survey data of Taiwan

In this paper we study the determinants of job-related fast repeat migrations of the labor force of Taiwan, based on the linked microdata of national migration surveys from 1980 through 1989. The main findings are as follows. First, the propensity to make fast return migration is negatively affected by the level of education and positively affected by the duration of unemployment, which suggests that those with a limited labor-market knowledge and an unsuccessful job search are more prone to make a return migration. Second, the propensity to make fast onward migration is strongly enhanced by the number of previous moves and negatively affected by the duration of unemployment, which suggests that more experienced and more successful previous migrants are more prone to make an onward migration. Third, those whose reason for the previous migration was job search are more likely to make a fast return migration than those whose reason for the previous migration was job change or job transfer, which suggests that those who have secured a job at the destination before moving are less likely to be disappointed and to make a fast return migration than those who migrated before securing a job. Fourth, gender selectivity in fast onward migration is very strong in terms of both overall level and age pattern, which reflects the strong dominance of patriarchal ideology on Taiwanese society.