Factor analysis of parameters affecting migration of ranchers in Ardabil province

Rural-urban migration has been identified as one of the most important components of livelihood strategy and poverty reduction in many rural communities. The aim of this study was to conduct a factor analysis of indicators determining rural-urban migration among ranchers in Ardabil province's watersheds. The research method was descriptive-analytical and the data collection tools were questionnaire, observation, and face-to-face interview. The statistical population included 9244 ranchers in 5 watersheds (33 villages) in Ardabil province, with a sample size of 372 persons based on Cochran's calculation. The questionnaire included 11 economic indicators, 10 social indicators and 6 indicators related to other factors affecting rural-urban migration. The Friedman test was utilized to rank the most important factors affecting in rural-urban migration of ranchers. The factor analysis test was used to analyze the variables impacting migration and the KMO index and the Bartlett test were utilized to assess the adequacy of the data. The results of the principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that among the studied indicators based on factor loading, 9 factors of economic-cultural security, welfare services, reverse migration, lack of motivation in rural areas, social participation, land, children's future, poor employment in rural and higher job chances in the city, respectively, explained a total of 85 percent of the variance of the data. In general, the findings of the present study can explain the essential priorities for reducing the livelihood and social problems of rural communities in the study region, as well as providing key organizations with the necessary information for efficient planning. This might ultimately reduce rural-urban migration.