ABSTRACT
Italy is traditionally considered a ‘rooted’ society with low rates of internal migration apart from certain periods such as the early post-war period. Data are available from population and housing censuses and from population registers, with data for inter-municipality moves starting in 1929. These rates usually fluctuate between 2% and 3% per annum with a peak of over 4% in 1962 and higher rates in the 1930s and from 1954 to 1974. Rates have increased since the 1980s but remain low by international standards. These trends can be partly explained with reference to the economy; industrial growth in the North increased South-to-North flows after WWII, and migration declined as this economic sector also declined. Transitions and life events for young adults are being postponed, thus decreasing internal migration, and population ageing has also worked to reduce migration. It is argued that traditional family values which privilege staying near parents have led to Italy being a low internal migration country over the long term. Emigration may also have substituted for moves within the country particularly for those living in Italy’s less-developed regions.
