Analysing structures of interregional migration in England

In this chapter, we explore the age and ethnic structures of interregional migration in England, as measured by the 1991 and 2001 Censuses. In doing so, we first analyse the main effect and two-way interaction components of migration flow tables cross-classified by (1) origin, destination and age and (2) origin, destination and ethnicity. Second, we test the significance of three-way interaction terms over time by comparing various unsaturated log-linear model fits. The aim is to identify the key structures in the migration flow tables and how they have changed over time. This is important for understanding the mechanisms underlying the more general patterns of migration. These analyses could also be used to inform the estimation or projection of migration flows. Our findings are that, despite a large increase in the levels of interregional migration, migration structures in England have remained fairly stable over time. The main changes have to do with the increases in the relative levels of ethnic migration over time, which has been unequal across space.