Revisiting the internal and international migration nexus: internal mobility of foreign-born in Turkey

Ibrahim Sirkeci, European Business School London, Regent's College
Jeffrey H Cohen, Ohio State University
Neriman Can, Turkish Statistics Institute

In an ever changing global context, international migration is becoming less predictable. There are hardly any fully tested theories of this particular type of human mobility. However, current models developed by migration studies give us proxy indicators of international migration propensity. Referring to cumulative causation model, earlier migration experiences are often considered as indicators for international migration. A modified use of the culture of migration concept, in this regard, is adopted to examine the role of prior internal migration experiences. Once someone has migrated the propensity for additional movements is relatively high. Although this culture of migration model had initially referred to international migration experiences, it is worth to explore the potential relationship between international and internal migration experiences. In this study, we analyse the most recent Turkish Census (2000) data to revisit this particular relationship. The key variables used in identifying the target population were birth place, current residence and residence five years before the Census day. This study also provides a brief elaboration of immigration in Turkey.