The role of coordination failure in the movement of future knowledge workers away from the periphery

Abstract One of the main problems of the periphery is the internal migration of technological human capital in one direction from communities in the geographic hinterlands to big cities. This process is one of the most influential factors that explains the poverty trap of the periphery. In this paper, we suggest that this process results from a failure of coordination between individuals. Our findings show that students in the periphery who study technology and science are less willing than other students to remain there after graduating. However, when we offered them a model that enhanced the coordination between them involving remaining in the periphery in a homogeneous neighborhood of university graduates after completing their degree, we found a significant increase in their willingness to choose the periphery as a residential location. This finding was evident in all students, but it was stronger among students who studied science and technology. In addition, we conducted robustness checks suggesting that creating mixed neighborhoods that are less segregated and a network embracing future knowledge workers are two options for making the periphery an attractive place for such individuals to live.