The Income and Employment Consequences of Migration for Partner Co-residence

Roselinde van der Wiel , University of Groningen
Viktor Venhorst, University of Groningen
Rolf Lyneborg Lund, Aalborg University
Patricia McMullin, University of Turku

Internal migration is often linked to the pursuit of higher income, better employment, or access to education. However, a large number of individuals migrate for social and family reasons rather than economic reasons. This paper investigates the consequences of migration for co-residence with a partner on an individual's earnings and employment status, addressing this underexplored type of family migration. We analyse who migrated within the couple, recognizing that costs and consequences differ based on this factor. Our cross-national study includes Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland, employing multinomial logistic regression models with aggregated microdata from population registers. Preliminary findings from Denmark reveal that migration for co-residence is associated with mostly negative income and employment changes for those who were employed prior to co-residence. This group has a considerably higher likelihood of experiencing a decrease an income or becoming unemployed following migration, yet also a somewhat higher likelihood of experiencing an income increase. Employed women who migrate for co-residence experience more adverse income and employment consequences than men. In contrast, the consequences of migrating upon co-residence are positive for those who were previously unemployed. For this group, migrating increases the likelihood of entering employment or self-employment.

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 Presented in Session P1. Fertility, Family, Life Course