The Impact of Geographical Mobility on Class Attainment. A Longitudinal Study of Internal Migrants in Europe

Nazareno Panichella, University of milan
Roberto Impicciatore , Università di Bologna

This study delves into the underexplored intersection of geographical mobility and social stratification, focusing on its impact on occupational attainment. Drawing on two waves of the SHARE dataset covering respondents from six European countries (Sweden, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, and Italy), we examine the life histories of individuals born between 1930 and 1965. The analysis employs Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) techniques, treating migration as a 'treatment', effectively 'pruning' observations to create a randomized experiment design. Preliminary findings reveal distinct gendered patterns. For men, geographical mobility substantially enhances the likelihood of employment, with a more nuanced effect on social class attainment. In contrast, women experience a less pronounced positive effect on employment, while gender disparities in social class attainment are minimal. Over time, both genders face a pre-migration employment penalty, which is largely offset by mobility for men, leading to increased post-migration employment rates. For women, the positive effect of mobility only partially compensates for pre-migration employment opportunities. Entry into the service class exhibits a similar positive effect for both genders, occurring after the move. Finally, geographical mobility shows limited impact on avoiding the working class. Notably, education introduces significant heterogeneity in outcomes.

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 Presented in Session 41. Flash session Internal Migration: temporalities, socio-economic and health outcomes