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Population Decline in Lithuania: Who Lives in Declining Regions and Who Leaves?

Author

Listed:
  • Ubarevi?ien?, R?ta

    (Lithuanian Social Research Centre)

  • van Ham, Maarten

    (Delft University of Technology)

Abstract
Since the 1990s, Lithuania lost almost a quarter of its population, and some regions within the country lost more than 50% of their residents. Such a sharp population decline poses major challenges to politicians, policy makers and planners. This study aims to get more insight into the recent processes of socio-spatial change and the role of selective migration in Lithuania. The main focus is on understanding who lives in those regions which are rapidly losing population, and who is most likely to leave these regions. This is one of the first studies to use individual level Lithuanian census data from 2001 and 2011. We found that low socio-economic status residents and older residents dominate the population of shrinking regions, and unsurprisingly we found that the most "successful" people are the most likely to leave such regions. This process of selective migration reinforces the negative downward spiral of declining regions. As a result, socio-spatial polarisation is growing within the country, where people with higher socio-economic status are increasingly overrepresented in the largest city-regions, while the elderly and residents with a lower socioeconomic status are overrepresented in declining rural regions. This paper provides empirical evidence of selective migration and increasing regional disparities in Lithuania. While the socio-spatial changes are obvious in Lithuania, there is no clear strategy on how to cope with extreme population decline and increasing regional inequalities within the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Ubarevi?ien?, R?ta & van Ham, Maarten, 2016. "Population Decline in Lithuania: Who Lives in Declining Regions and Who Leaves?," IZA Discussion Papers 10160, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10160
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feijten Peteke & Maarten van Ham, 2007. "Residential mobility and migration of the separated," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 17(21), pages 623-654.
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    9. Sílvia Sousa & Paulo Pinho, 2015. "Planning for Shrinkage: Paradox or Paradigm," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 12-32, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. V. A. Kolosov & A. V. Crivenco, 2021. "Impact of Depopulation on Political Life and Legitimacy of Unrecognized States (a Case Study of Transnistria)," Regional Research of Russia, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 263-272, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    socio-spatial polarisation; internal migration; shrinking regions; population decline; Lithuania;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • P20 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - General

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