Thanks for your latest article Dave. They are always in interesting read. This one got the Geographer in me thinking; how much of the northern shift in our population centre is driven by immigration into NZ, with most migrants choosing to settle in the Auckland region (I'm not sure that's even the case, but I'm, wondering if it is)? If those migrants have moved from places closer to the equator, you'd have to say at a global level (rather than national) they're part of a trend that's moving towards cooler climes (and just think for a moment of those trying to migrate north into Europe or North America). Also, that bigger national trend (towards Auckland/Hamilton /Tauranga) could be masking a trend in the opposite direction which is seeing those who can afford it, migrate south to Queenstown, Wanaka and Central Otago, where they're able to escape some of that northern humidity - not to mention traffic congestion (and the odd bit of urban blight) but with an international airport (and internet infrastructure) that keeps them sufficiently connected.
In respect of the US, and in so far as moving southwards is climate related, it might be motivated by a desire to avoid the awful winters in the northern states with summers in the southern states simply being judged less awful. Expressed in economic terms, the whole distribution matters rather than just the mean and utility over the extremes is not symmetric.
Thanks for your latest article Dave. They are always in interesting read. This one got the Geographer in me thinking; how much of the northern shift in our population centre is driven by immigration into NZ, with most migrants choosing to settle in the Auckland region (I'm not sure that's even the case, but I'm, wondering if it is)? If those migrants have moved from places closer to the equator, you'd have to say at a global level (rather than national) they're part of a trend that's moving towards cooler climes (and just think for a moment of those trying to migrate north into Europe or North America). Also, that bigger national trend (towards Auckland/Hamilton /Tauranga) could be masking a trend in the opposite direction which is seeing those who can afford it, migrate south to Queenstown, Wanaka and Central Otago, where they're able to escape some of that northern humidity - not to mention traffic congestion (and the odd bit of urban blight) but with an international airport (and internet infrastructure) that keeps them sufficiently connected.
In respect of the US, and in so far as moving southwards is climate related, it might be motivated by a desire to avoid the awful winters in the northern states with summers in the southern states simply being judged less awful. Expressed in economic terms, the whole distribution matters rather than just the mean and utility over the extremes is not symmetric.