Net interstate migration revisited

The paper revisits the work of Sommers and Suits on net interstate migration in the USA. Adopting the same framework, consideration is given to the effects of differences in income, welfare expenditures, employment opportunities and 'regional preferences' on the behaviour of migrants in the mid-1990s. The question is asked whether variations in health insurance coverage have produced interstate 'job lock'. The robustness of the model is also evaluated in some detail.