Migration in Alaska
EPSCoR All Hands meeting
May 14, 2009
Anchorage
Stephanie Martin
Institute of Social and Economic Research
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, AK USA
Acknowledgements
• National Science Foundation
– Social Transitions in the North
– Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic
– Boreas
– Migration in the Arctic
– EPSCoR
• North Slope borough
• National Park Service, Alaska Department of Fish and
Game
• US Census Bureau
Connections
• Macro effects of micro-decisions
– Community effects of out-migration
• Micro effects of macro forces
– Climate change
– Global economy
Integration
• So far integrated over projects and communities
– Who moves and why
– Are migrants better off
– Return migrants
• Goal to extend projects by integrating over
disciplines and extending geographic and
cultural scope
– Out-migration
– Return
Iñupiat migration in Alaska
1985-90
930 1995-00
935
1615
1010
1149
777
Surveys
• Not designed to be migration surveys
• Most ask where did you live 5 years ago or 1
year ago
• Where were you born
Migrant groups in the surveys
• Return migrants - moved back to the community
where they grew up.
• In-migrants – moved to a community other than
where they grew up.
• Stayers – never left.
Who moves
• More women move out
• More men move back
• Young adults
• Some places, women with children
Why people move
• More women than men considered leaving
– Pull. Women cite own or children’s education,
family as reasons.
• More men want to stay.
– Negative push factors. Hunting and fishing
one of the main reported reasons.
What else?
• Return migration is important because of its
implications for community level well being.
• Important for individual well-being because it is
related to family ties and social support. Both
essential for well-being.
Return Migration
• In Northern Alaskan communities, about 1/3
are return
• Return migration varies by community
– Some communities are relatively new and
weren’t around when respondents were
young.
– Some communities people leave and don’t
return.
Return Migration
• Return migration varies by gender.
– Mirroring the census data showing that more
women leave and more men return
– Of men living in Arctic communities, 41% are
return migrants.
– Compared with 34% of women
Why people leave
• Education
– 52% of male return migrants reported leaving
for education
– 42% of women return migrants
• Jobs
– Equal percentages of men and women return
migrants (about 21% reported leaving for
jobs)
Why people return
• Overwhelmingly, people return to be with family
– A larger share of men (68%) than women
(58%)
• A slightly larger share of women (13%) than men
reported returning for jobs
• About 7% of both men and women reported
returning for subsistence.
Characteristics of return migrants
• Educated
• Employed
• Subsistence participation
– Less in whaling, walrus
– Same in other activities
• Social support
• Family ties
Moving forward
• Macro effects of micro-decisions
- Out-migration and its effects on communities
• Effects of macro forces on micro-decisions
– Effects of climate change on communities
• Leaky system.
Practical Importance
• Denali Commission and other federal agencies
• State funding for schools, local government
• State sport hunting/subsistence trade-offs
• Urban areas – providing services
• Understanding migration in other places
Different community profiles
• More very small communities (37 places)
• Declining populations
• Schools closing
• High subsistence harvest but fewer species
– Moose, salmon, caribou
Regional/local effects Households/Communities
Global Opportunities
social elsewhere
change Fuel prices
Subsistence Well-
being
Biological Changes Social & Migration
change in wildlife family ties
Jobs Community
Income Viability
River levels
Physical
Fire
change
Infrastructure
damage
Summary
• Until now: Integrated research in one field over
time
• Going forward: Integrate research across
disciplines
• Moved from micro effects on macro decisions to
macro effects on micro
• Migration is a good example of leakage from
system.
Research questions
• What are the points of contact between global
forces and communities/households?
• What are thresholds for change?
• Link these changes to resilience?
• Resilience of what? Boundaries of system.
Leakage.
• Community location?
• What happens if communities vanish? Decay.