Non-coresident family as a driver of migration change in a crisis: the case of the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates the impact of extended family on migration patterns in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using census microdata and mobile phone GPS relocation data, the researchers demonstrate that individuals migrated closer to family at higher rates after the pandemic began. Even controlling for factors like population density and cost of living, cities with larger proportions of potential parents to adult children (a proxy for parental family availability) experienced larger positive net in-migration changes. This research contributes to the demography-disaster nexus and highlights the role of kinship systems in large-scale socioeconomic phenomena.

Unchitta Kan, Jericho McLeod, Eduardo López