Internal Migration, Regional Economic Convergence, and Growth in Croatia

The article aims to explore internal migration flows, test for economic convergence, and assess the effects of internal migration (net and gross) on convergence and growth in terms of a neoclassical model in Croatia in the period 2000 to 2011. Croatia is a country with significant and persistent regional economic disparities, migration, and turbulent economic and political changes. The main findings of panel data analysis with fixed effects show that (i) contrary to the expectations based on neoclassical theory, the Croatian counties have been facing absolute and conditional economic divergence; (ii) in- and out-migration works symmetrically; (iii) net migration mainly appears to be a force that accelerates divergence, just opposite to gross in- and out-migration; (iv) although the estimated parameters of net and gross migration have expected signs, their effect size lies in the range from statistically significant but minor to insignificant; and (v) migrant characteristics and behavior matter when the effect size is considered.