In this article we analyze the changes in the pattern of inter-regional migration that took place in Spain between the years 1960-1989. First, in accordance with the theories which explain migratory flows, the correspondence between these changes and the existence of economically imbalanced regional systems versus regional systems with compensating differences are contrasted econometrically. We find that despite recent intensification of inter-regional migrations, and unlike what happened in other periods under other circumstances, one cannot take for granted that inter-regional migration necessarily contributes to the fact that the regions wilh the highest levels of unemployment approximate more closely to the national average. Migration as a relevant means of reducing unemployment rates might have ceased to exist, in the sense that the negative effect from the increasing weight of the barriers coming from the labour and property market is growing, and, paradoxically, it has generated inter-regional flows which are balanced and not polarised. If, in addition, the possibility that emigration plays an invigorating role in the economic adjustment is affected by the unemployment of those workers who move from one place to another then public policies should not concentrate only on the stimulation of the flows but also on the microeconomic aspects relating to the availability of information, the guidance and the training of potential emigrant workers.

Keywords: migration, labour market, regional disparities.