Internal migration in Indonesia: New insights

This thesis uses longitudinal Indonesia Family Life Survey data spanning multiple decades of life histories to examine the determinants of internal migration events and trajectories in Indonesia. We measure individual and household characteristics before migration rather than after, we distil general patterns against a backdrop of societal and economic dynamics, and we carefully disentangle individual migrations and the larger trajectories that they are a part of. This generates several insights. For example, we find a greater likelihood for migration across three spatial scales —inter-kecamatan (subdistrict), inter-kabupaten/kota (district), and inter-province — for women who are heads of household, highlighting the link between gender and household structure in migration. Next, being the oldest child drives young Indonesians to leave their parental village, while living with an extended family reduces their likelihood of leaving for work in particular, highlighting the role of family structure in young people's migration. This thesis also highlights that one’s ethnicity affects migration, and shows that the ethnic groups that are more likely to ever migrate do not necessarily have a higher number of migrations across the lifespan. Lastly, it is found that throughout their migration trajectories, most migrants move within the same level of urban hierarchy (e.g., village to village), followed by adjacent moves (e.g., village to town), and then leapfrog moves (e.g., village to city). Overall, this thesis underscores the significance of considering migration not merely as an isolated event in one’s life, but as a dynamic process that unfolds over the life course.