Immobility in Sweden

Traditional migration theory analyzes and explains why and when people migrate. However, most people do not move at all. We therefore discuss the explanation of immobility and suggest a new approach: the insider-advantage hypothesis. A new dataset allows us to investigate empirically (im-)mobility patterns between Swedish labor market regions. From an aggregate point of view, there seem to be significant differences in mobility patterns with respect to place of birth. People bom in Sweden are on average more immobile than those bom abroad. This is true also for those bom in Finland. The mobility of Persons bom in the Baltic countries, however, was only half as high as for those bom in Sweden. Are Balts thus especially immobile in Sweden? Our analysis ot the data suggests that distinct socio-demographic Profiles rather than any origin-specific behavioral particularities explain the different mobility patterns. People living in Sweden who were bom in the Baltic countries are on average older than Swedish natives. They are resident in the country for longer than most other groups of foreigners and cluster in the main metropolitan areas.