Spatial mobility as a carrier of cultural capital: an analysis based on a longitudinal study of generations

Abstract For many years international migrations have been the primary focus of spatial mobility research, whereas internal migrations – occurring within one state – have aroused significantly less interest. However, the latter are not only an important complement to the former, but they also seem to have a much greater impact on the domestic affairs of the state. For example, internal migrations engage the resources (intellectual, cultural, social) of much wider cohorts of people who therefore become, with varying degrees of significance, agents of social changes. This article presents an analysis of the spatial mobility of two generations monitored during a 45-year-long longitudinal research project. Its broad time perspective makes it possible to analyse not only the net changes with regard to the place of residence, a typical focus of migration studies, but also gross changes (migration flows). The aim of this article is to determine the scale and the social embeddedness of the migration flows in both generations. It is assumed that, due to differences in generational biographies and resources, as well as changes in the quality of life in rural areas compared to urban areas, migrations in both generations, even though occurring at the same stages of life, are different. As a result, the resources contributed by migrants to their new places of residence also carry a different quality.