Long before Everett Lee wrote about push and pull factors, the geographer Ernst Georg Ravenstein studied British census records and published "The Laws of Migration" (in 1885 and 1889). His "laws" are really patterns, and several still hold.
- Most migrants move only a short distance.
- Migrants who go long distances usually head for big cities.
- Each migration flow produces a smaller counterflow in the opposite direction.
- Most migration happens in steps.
- People in rural areas are more likely to migrate than people in cities.
- In his data, women were more likely than men to migrate within the country, and men more likely to move abroad.
- Most migration is for economic reasons.
Key idea
Ravenstein's main idea is distance decay applied to migration: most migrants move short distances, often within their own country or region, while long-distance migrants tend to head for large cities.
Why it works
Short moves cost less, carry less risk and keep people near family. People know more about nearby places, so they find jobs and homes there more easily. A big city draws people from far away because it offers so many jobs that the long trip is worth it. Counterflows happen because some migrants return home, and news and connections flow back along the same path, drawing a few people the other way.
Worked examples
Worked example: Which law?
For every 10 people who move from a rural state to a big coastal city, about 3 move from that city to the rural state. Which pattern is this?
- There is a main flow and a smaller flow in the other direction.
- That is a counterflow.
Answer: Each flow produces a counterflow.
Worked example: Testing a claim
A student says most migrants cross oceans. What would Ravenstein say?
- He found most migrants move short distances.
- Today, too, many more people move within their own country than between countries.
Answer: Most migrants move short distances, usually within their own country.
Common mistake
Because news focuses on international migration, students expect most migrants to cross oceans or borders. Most people who move stay in their own country, often in their own region. Long-distance moves are the exception, and they usually end in large cities. Remember too that Ravenstein's laws describe tendencies in 1880s Britain; test them against other times and places rather than treating them as rules.