Doctoral Dissertation Research: Poverty Migration into Rural Illinois Communities

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

Research has thoroughly documented how out-migration of the educated and skilled from rural areas leaves behind a poorer population and creates pockets of rural poverty. Recent studies have recognized that the poor are also highly mobile, playing an important though different role in reinforcing rural poverty concentrations. Rather than leaving depressed rural communities for places with better opportunities, the poor tend to migrate to places with few economic opportunities. In this process, certain rural communities receive a disproportionate share of poverty migrants, which results in a changing population increasingly composed of highly mobile, poor residents. What is unclear is why some rural communities become "catchments" for poverty migrants while others do not. This doctoral dissertation research project will examine the processes and conditions through which small rural communities become frequent destinations for a highly mobile segment of the rural poor. Using case studies of rural Illinois communities, this project will explore the causal mechanisms that initiate and maintain high rates of poverty migration in these places. It will document a process in which rural communities progress from having a residentially stable, low-poverty population to having a high-poverty population that is extremely mobile. The project's objective is to identify the economic, social, and political conditions that foster poverty in-migration and a change from a low-turnover to a high-turnover community. In working to attain this objective, the interplay between individual migrant decision making and the community and regional context will be explored. One case study community will be selected that is experiencing increasing poverty and population turnover due to the high mobility of those in poverty. Another case study community will be chosen that is experiencing increasing poverty, yet is not experiencing an influx of poverty migrants. These two cases will be compared to discover the underlying mechanisms of community change that lead or prevent communities from becoming poverty migration magnets. The case studies will use multiple data sources, including quantitative data such as surveys and archival documents, and qualitative data, such as in-depth interviews with key community informants and recent migrants. The case study approach will be used to bring together these different data types to uncover how a community changes into a poorer, more mobile place. This project will offer insight into the role of migration of the poor in the processes of community change and poverty concentration in rural areas. The high rates of mobility among the rural poor impact the lives of those in poverty and the communities to which they move. Frequent moves can disrupt social services and children's education. Rural communities that have high rates of poverty migration often struggle to provide adequate housing and employment opportunities, and existing education and social service systems are not equipped to meet the increased need. An understanding of the process of poverty migration into rural communities is needed to develop effective policies that address the needs of these communities and the individuals moving to them. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.