Migration and the Tiebout-Tullock Hypothesis Revisited

This empirical study investigates the Tiebout-Tullock hypothesis as it might have applied to net domestic state in-migration rates over the period 1990 through 1999. It appears that the net state in-migration rate has been directly related to the ratio of the total state plus local government outlays per capita on public education in a state to that state's total state plus local govern­ment tax burden per capita. Other variables included in the study, including the previous-period median single-family housing price inflation rate, a mea­sure of previous-period growth in real income per capita, and quality-of-life variables reflecting violent crime rates and sunnier climates, also seem to be significant determinants of the net state in-migration rate. Thus, for the study period, it appears that the Tiebout-Tullock hypothesis played a significant role in determining internal migration patterns.