Destination choices of michigan micropolitan outmigrants: Key determinants and implications for community marketing

As its economy struggled during the last decade, Michigan became the only state to lose population between the 2000 and 2010 Censuses. Michigan's problems were well known and communities in other states sought to attract residents from Michigan. This paper describes the efforts of one Nebraska community, Columbus, to recruit residents from a specific Michi-gan micropolitan area. We also develop a model of destination choice by outmigrants from Michigan micropolitan areas. We find that counties that offer amenity and real wage ad-vantages have the greatest potential to attract Michigan outmigrants, that differences in un-employment rates do not influence destination choice, and that the potential for attracting workers drops with distance.