Family migration in a cross-national perspective: The importance of institutional and cultural context

Sergi Vidal, Francisco Perales, Maria Brandén and Philipp M. Lersch
Additional contact information
Sergi Vidal: Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED)
Francisco Perales: University of Queensland
Maria Brandén: Linköpings Universitet
Philipp M. Lersch: Universität zu Köln

Demographic Research, 2017, vol. 36, issue 10, 307-338

Abstract: Objective: Migration rates of dual-earner couples are lower than those of male-breadwinner couples. We revisit this issue using a cross-national comparative perspective and examine heterogeneity in the role of female employment in couple relocations. We propose a theoretical framework in which national levels of support for female employment and normative expectations about gender roles act as moderators of the relationship between couple type (i.e., dual-earner and male-breadwinner) and family migration. Methods: We deploy discrete-time event history analyses of harmonised longitudinal data from four large-scale datasets from Australia, Britain, Germany, and Sweden, covering the 1992-2011 period. Results: Consistent with prior research, we find that male-breadwinner couples migrate more often than dual-earner couples in all countries, suggesting that traditional gender structures affecting family migration operate across very different contexts. We also find cross-country differences in the estimated effects of different sorts of absolute and relative partner resources on family migration. Conclusions: We take our results as preliminary evidence that national contexts can serve as moderators of the relationship between within-couple employment arrangements and family migration decisions. Contribution: Our study contributes to family migration literature by illustrating how cross-national comparisons are a valuable methodological approach to put prevailing micro-level explanations of the relationship between female employment and family migration in context.

Keywords: family migration; cross-national comparison; female employment; event history analysis; institutional context; dual-earner couples (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:36:y:2017:i:10

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.10

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