Agglomeration and Immigration: What Makes Natives Move?

This project examines the dynamics behind the mobility patterns in Denmark. Does the increasing number of immigrants impact the urbanization forces in Demark and the mobility of natives towards creating more homogenous residential areas within the larger cities?

In the first part of the project, we will document the basic mobility dynamics between regions and within cities over the last three decades. It aims to provide stylized facts about the main attributes of all residences in Denmark and how locations compare in income levels, housing prices and neighborhood composition. We also consider how long residents stay in the area and if these patterns differ between native-born Danes and immigrants.

The second part of the project analyses the demographic and social consequences of the mobility patterns of these two groups. We seek to answer questions about neighborhood characteristics which may contribute to create and accelerate the potential process of ethnic and socio-economic segregation between regions and within cities.

The third part of the project will contribute to the ongoing political and public debate on the gains and losses of urbanization in Denmark by estimating the value (measured by wages (incomes)) of living and working in bigger cities, i.e. the gain of agglomeration.