Online Invited Seminar Talk
Openness to Migrate Internationally for a Job: Evidence from LinkedIn Data
Laboratory of Digital and Computational Demography
Online Invited Seminar Talk, June 01, 2021
Sarah Johnson, PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research introduced a novel data source: aggregate-level information on LinkedIn users open to work-related international relocation.
Abstract
Much migration research falls short in explaining why people choose to move – or stay – and to where. The “aspiration-(cap)ability” framework separates the decision-making process prior to migration from migration itself (or lack thereof) and is well-suited for answering these questions.
Increasing surveys capturing migration aspirations have also contributed to recent empirical advancement. There are a number of limitations that come with using traditional survey data, though, including an often narrow scope, spatio-temporal restrictions, and lack of inter-survey comparability. To address some of these limitations we offer analyses relying on a novel data source: aggregate-level information on LinkedIn users open to work-related international relocation.
Compared to traditional survey data, these data are relatively less expensive to collect, are continuously available, have consistently defined variables across 24 different languages, and provide a global snapshot of openness to migration as recent as the latest update to a person’s LinkedIn profile. We identify the utility of this novel LinkedIn dataset for studying openness to international migration, presenting preliminary results on the relative attractiveness of certain countries through adaptation of a gravity-type model. Lastly we discuss the limitations of this dataset and future research areas to overcome these obstacles.
About
Sarah Johnson is currently a doctoral student in the Lab of Digital & Computational Demography at MPIDR and is also affiliated with the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen. She holds an MSc in Demography & Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and was formerly employed as a researcher at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.