Migration of dual-earner couples: a subjective wellbeing approach

Abstract

We model push factors that determine the domestic migration decisions for couples, with emphasis on dual-earner different-sex couples. Unlike many prior studies that concentrate on labour market determinants of migration, we place the subjective well-being (SWB) reported by each partner at centre stage. We test whether migration determinants differ depending on whether the female is the main breadwinner in a dual-earner couple. We also test if determinants differ when either the female or the male is the sole earner within a couple. The evidence shows that a couple is more likely to migrate if she reports low SWB in the year prior to migration, with the strength of this effect varying depending on the earnings status of each partner prior to migration. Male SWB does not have the same impact on the migration choice although we find some evidence that pre-migration male wages impact the migration decision.

‘Love knows no (spatial) boundaries?‘: Investigating diversity in the residential location choices of rural-residing couples upon union formation

“…Alongside shifts in gender norms, the growth of 'dual-earner' households or 'power couples' (Cooke, 2008;Tam and Grimes, 2022), the weakening of traditional social norms and expectations concerning proximity to kin within residence choices (Løken et al, 2013), and a rise in urban-rural migration (or counter-urbanisation) (Phillips, 2010;Stockdale and Catney, 2014), these increasing diversitiesof residential biographies or place of upbringingin rural-residing couples over time may lead to even greater complexity, and therefore challenges in understanding the nuances involved in couples' rural residence location choice upon union formation.…”