Globalization and internal migration: evidence from inter-provincial mobility in Vietnam

This paper explores the link between globalization and internal mobility in Vietnam. We find that Vietnam’s internationalization processes have an asymmetric economic impact on the provinces. Using data on inter-provincial migration flows, we show that this asymmetry is also detectable in terms of differences in the levels of provincial attraction vis-à-vis internal migration. In particular, provinces receiving higher foreign direct investment are found to be the most attractive for internal migrants. The existence of a pull-through effect associated with migrant networks also emerges in our findings. Overall, the results corroborate the idea that globalization processes are key determinants of internal migration flows.