The Region-of-origin effect revisited: More on the voting behavior of Turkey's internal migrants

The purpose of this paper is to provide further insights into how the Turkish internal migrants' party choices are influenced by the voting patterns in their places of origin. We consider the impact of several factors including the timing of the departure from the origin and the migrants' self-declared emotional attachment to their origins. Using a nationwide survey conducted before the 2011 general elections, we find that the ‘region-of-origin' effect is present only among those who identify themselves with their original – rather than current – provinces. Investigations relating to the timing of departure reveal that the effect is absent for those who relocate when aged 18-to-20, i.e. around the age of discretion and the age at which many young people leave their towns to receive higher education. This interpretation is consistent our finding that the region-of-origin effect declines with the years of schooling.