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The effect of moving away from home on employee retention: Evidence among U.S. army soldiers

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  • Carter, Susan Payne
  • Swisher, Ryan D.

Abstract

We study the effect of an employee moving away from home for their job on short-term retention with the firm. Our context is soldiers in the U.S. Army who are stationed to their first post based on the needs of the Army rather than their preferences. We find that a soldier stationed within driving distance of home is around 4 percent more likely to voluntarily separate from the Army relative to someone who is stationed further from home.

Suggested Citation

  • Carter, Susan Payne & Swisher, Ryan D., 2020. "The effect of moving away from home on employee retention: Evidence among U.S. army soldiers," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:85:y:2020:i:c:s0166046220302647
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2020.103579
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration; Firm retention; Labor;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J29 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Other
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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