Rural areas as winners of COVID-19, digitalization and remote working? Empirical evidence from recent internal migration in Germany
利用德国地区登记数据，研究发现新冠疫情后农村地区净迁入率上升，尤其是年轻高技能人群迁往农村，表明远程工作使农村受益，但效果因地区类型和技能水平而异。
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic crises and increased inter-regional economic disparities. However, the catalyst effect that the pandemic has had on digitalization may change the traditional pattern of internal migration, in favour of rural areas. Using time-sensitive register data we explain changes in net migration rates of German districts from an economic geography perspective. We show that, since the beginning of the pandemic, rural regions benefited more from migration. In particular, younger and highly skilled individuals increasingly move to rural areas. This confirms that rural regions can benefit from increasing remote work, but these effects differ across region types and individual skill levels.