Does exposure to books foster a taste for spatial mobility? Home library size in childhood and adult migration intentions

Zuzanna Brunarska, Artjoms Ivlevs (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Does exposure to books in childhood encourage adult migration? We contend that it does—through reading, which provides a simulative experience and arouses readers’ curiosity, as well as raising their openness to new experiences, awareness of opportunities in other places, and confidence in social situations, all of which foster migration intentions. Using data from the Life in Transition-III Survey, we find that the number of books in a childhood home is positively related to adult migration intentions. This relationship holds after controlling for a set of socio-economic characteristics, including individual and parental education. We also show that the book effect increases with the respondents’ level of education.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages20
JournalMigration Studies
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Apr 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords*

  • Books
  • Childhood
  • Migration aspirations
  • Migration intentions
  • Reading
  • Spatial mobility

Field of Science*

  • 5.4 Sociology
  • 5.7 Social and Economic geography
  • 5.6 Political science

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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