Economic stress and migration in early modern Japan: Rural-urban comparative evidence from population registers

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of economic stress on out-migration behaviors using individual-level panel data transcribed from local population registers of three villages and a neighboring town in northeastern Japan in 1708–1870. Economic stress under study includes local economic hardship, measured by rice price fluctuations, and large-scale famines. We apply multinomial logistic models to examine competing risks of migration for various reasons and to compare rural and non-rural populations. The likelihood of service-related migration declined while that of illegal absconding increased during times of economic hardship. Rural residents were more vulnerable to famines, whereas urban residents were more affected by rice price fluctuations. Moreover, systematic socioeconomic heterogeneities existed in the migration responses to economic stress between the landowner/tax-payer and landless/non-tax-payer classes. Overall, this study dissects the complex dynamics of migration responses to economic stress, revealing significant variations based on migration reasons, socioeconomic status, and rural-urban contexts.