Factors and Routes of Interregional Migration of University Graduates in Russia

Abstract

Data from Russia’s Portal for Monitoring Employment of University Graduates isused to analyze migration of youths between 2013 and 2015. Interregional mobility of human resources stems, in particular, from uneven distribution of universities across the country and socioeconomic disparities between regions. Migration of university graduates may deprive some regions of much of their skilled workers. The largest migration flows are observed between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Moscow Oblast. Apart from federal cities, graduates are also attracted by industrial regions of the Russian North. 
This study makes use of a modified gravity model that includes various socioeconomic indicators of home and recipient regions in addition to the basic gravity model factors. Gravity modelling allows identifying a number of migration factors associated with the areas of origin and destination. Origin factors (the ones that push, or repel, graduates out of the region) include low wages and high rates of poverty and unemployment. Destination factors (the ones that pull, or attract, graduates into the region) are represented by high wages and high levels of cultural development and business innovation. Most often, university graduates migrate from south to north and from east to west. Federal subjects of Russia differ essentially by the demand for graduates in regional labor markets. Analysis reveals which regions of Russia attract or repel academic migrants. Territories with consistently diminishing populations of skilled workers are in urgent need for dedicated programs to attract young professionals from other regions, new high-performance jobs, and improvements in the quality of life.