He also wrote several works on his native region, Agder, among others on the so-called child migration in older times.
Inspirations in addition to Øidne include Paul Lazarsfeld et al.'s book The People's Choice.
[9] The study of this field has traditionally been severely underdeveloped in Norway,[10] but Øidne grew up in this region and was aware of the practice,[9] which took place between c. 1750 and c. 1910.
The migration typically took place from valleys in Vest-Agder—Kvinesdal, Lyngdalen, Audnedalen, Mandalen, Marnardal, Åseral and Sirdal as well as Lindesnes—to more affluent areas in Aust-Agder, often near the coast—Høvåg, Landvik, Arendal and Grimstad as well as Birkenes and Iveland.
[10] In the late phase of his life Øidne assisted the screenwriter and film director Grete Salomonsen Hynnekleiv, who spent many years working on a screenplay, Yohan: The Child Wanderer, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1230478/?ref_=nm_knf_i1, which she also directed.