Abstract
The theoretical concept of the neutral migration process is examined in this paper and is used to : (1) assess the relative importance of the departure and destination choice processes in determining the redistributional effect of interregional migration, and (2) reveal the basic properties of Shryock's preference indices, offering a better alternative in the process. These objectives are demonstrated with data on U.S.-born (and foreign-born) migration between the four regions of the United States. Our reason for using a small number of regions instead of the 50 states or hundreds of economic areas is to simplify the visualization of the entire procedure and its empirical results.
