DECISION-MAKING AS REGARDS MIGRATION - WAGE DIFFERENTIAL, JOB OPPORTUNITY, AND THE NETWORK EFFECT

The aim of the present work was to study the relationship between inte nt to migrate and three other factors: two economic factors, namely Wa ge differential and Employment opportunity, and a non-economic, social factor that we call the Network factor. The hypotheses tested in this study were that of a main effect of the Network factor and that of in teractions between wage differential and job opportunities, between Ne twork factor and wage differential, between Network factor and job opp ortunities, and between Network factor, wage differential and job oppo rtunities. The study was an application of Information Integration The ory. The sample group was composed of 40 Portuguese adolescents. The f ollowing findings were observed: (a) the intent to migrate was higher in the network condition, (b) the effect of wage differential was high er when employment opportunities were good than when they were poor, a nd vice versa, (c) the effects of wage differential and employment opp ortunities were higher in the network condition, and (d) the way in wh ich employment opportunities altered the effect of wage differential v aried as a function of the network factor. These findings hold, indepe ndent of gender and social economic status of participants. (C) 1998 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.