Population Research and Policy Review15: 437-457 (December 1996) © 1996 KluwerAcademic Publishers. Printed in theNetherlands. Migration in market and democracy transition: Migration intentions and behavior in Romania DUMITRU SANDU1 & GORDON F. DE JONG2 Sociology Department , University of Bucharest, Bucharest,Romania; Population Research Institute, Department ofSociology , Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA Abstract. This paper analyzes the determinants of migration decision-making in the context of recent market and democratic transition in Romania. Usingearly 1990s internal migration survey, census and population register data, theresults from Lisrel path models showthat market and democracy value orientation variables are significant determinants ofintentions to move, controlling for individual and regional social structural andresource indicators. Similarly, district-level out-migration behavior is directly determined by the political profile of thelocal area.Results from the total and disaggregated rural andurban models are interpreted through a reform values and characteristics typology of migrants. Atleast inthe early stages of Romanian transition, the results indicate that migration choice behavior is governed by a search for places with greatest opportunities interms of market and democracy returns. Implications of the results for political system and public policy decision arediscussed. Key words: Applied demography, Migration, Decision-making, Values, Economy anddemoc- racy transition, Romania Introduction Demography as a decision-making science has twofaces.One faceshows how aggregate demographic structure and trends shapepublic and business decisions, while the other face reveals how government and corporate struc- ture and change affects individual decision-making. Thisresearch is of the latter type inwhich we explore how workers' migration decisions are shaped by emergent capitalistic market and democracy values inthe context of recent rapid political change in Romania. However, in the process of documenting determinants of individual migration decision-making, it is also possible to identify implications for political system and public policy decisions. The development-mobility transition perspective is frequently usedin mi- gration research. As described byZelinsky (1971),mobility transition is the patterned regularities in space-time personal mobility behaviors thatare essential components ofthe modernization process. Likethe vital transition- development interrelationship, evolutionary changes insocioeconomic struc- tures arethe major determinants of changing mobility patterns. But what is the interrelationship between rapid societal change and mi- gration? Thisis the relatively unexplored area of migration research. One form of rapid societal change is thetransition from a planned to a market This content downloaded from 132.174.254.164 on Sat, 18 Apr 2015 07:29:05 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions