Migration and Metropolitan Decline in Developed Countries: A Comparative Study

Population redistribution from core to peripheral regions and down the metropolitan hierarchy in the United States and other industrialized countries has led to population losses in large metropolitan areas. This article develops hypotheses regarding national redistribution patterns and migration processes that are consistent with two alternative explanations of metropolitan decline in developed, market economy nations. These hypotheses are evaluated with population projections for large metropolitan areas and broad regions in 13 developed countries. The projections are based on migration data assembled by the Michigan Metropolitan Migration Project.