Assessing Reverse Migration's Motivations and Consequences in Ijroud County, Zanjan Province

The decision to return to villages is influenced by different factors. The purpose of this paper is to assess the motivations of reverse migration and its consequences in the villages of Ijroud city in Zanjan province. The research is of an applied type conducted via a survey method. The study population consisted of the migrants returning to villages of Ijroud. The sample size was determined using the Cochran formula (n = 125). The respondents in this study were selected using the stratified random sampling method. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The face validity and the content validity of the questionnaire were confirmed by a panel of experts. A pre-test and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used to measure the reliability (0.79-0.81). Through an exploratory factor analysis, the reverse migration motivations were summarized into four factors including improvement of the welfare and health in rural areas, improvement of the natural attractions of the village and providing a quiet environment, improvement of the prospects for profitability, and improvement of the capacity of agricultural employment in the region. These factors explained 60.80 % of the migration's motivations. Also, using exploratory factor analysis, the consequences of reverse migration to rural area were summarized in three factors including improvement of development and health indexes, increase of rural participation and investment rates, and mental relaxation. These factors explained 33.65 percent of the total variance of the consequences of reverse migration.