IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwsop/diw_sp861.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Losing Work, Moving away? Regional Mobility after Job Loss

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Fackler
  • Lisa Rippe

Abstract

Using German survey data, we investigate the relationship between involuntary job loss and regional mobility. Our results show that job loss has a strong positive effect on the propensity to relocate. We also analyze whether the high and persistent earnings losses of displaced workers can in part be explained by limited regional mobility. Applying an event study approach, which controls for worker fixed effects, our findings do not support this conjecture as we find substantial long lasting earnings losses for both movers and stayers. In the short run, movers even face slightly higher losses, but the differences between the two groups of displaced workers are never statistically significant. This challenges whether migration is a beneficial strategy in case of involuntary job loss.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Fackler & Lisa Rippe, 2016. "Losing Work, Moving away? Regional Mobility after Job Loss," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 861, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
  • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp861
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.541818.de/diw_sp0861.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jacobson, Louis S & LaLonde, Robert J & Sullivan, Daniel G, 1993. "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 685-709, September.
    2. Helmut Rainer & Thomas Siedler, 2009. "O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Effects of Having a Sibling on Geographic Mobility and Labour Market Outcomes," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(303), pages 528-556, July.
    3. Louis S. Jacobson & Robert J. LaLonde & Daniel G. Sullivan, 1993. "Long-term earnings losses of high-seniority displaced workers," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 17(Nov), pages 2-20.
    4. repec:bla:scandj:v:104:y:2002:i:4:p:621-39 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. DaVanzo, Julie, 1978. "Does Unemployment Affect Migration?-Evidence from Micro Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 60(4), pages 504-514, November.
    6. Jennifer Hunt, 2004. "Are migrants more skilled than non-migrants? Repeat, return, and same-employer migrants," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 37(4), pages 830-849, November.
    7. Grund, Christian, 1999. "Stigma effects of layoffs?: Evidence from German micro-data," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 241-247, August.
    8. Sari Pekkala & Hannu Tervo, 2002. "Unemployment and Migration: Does Moving Help?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 104(4), pages 621-639, December.
    9. Anders Boman, 2011. "Does migration pay? Earnings effects of geographic mobility following job displacement," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 1369-1384, October.
    10. Daniel Sullivan & Till von Wachter, 2009. "Job Displacement and Mortality: An Analysis Using Administrative Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(3), pages 1265-1306.
    11. M. R. Rosenzweig & Stark, O. (ed.), 1997. "Handbook of Population and Family Economics," Handbook of Population and Family Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    12. Peter Boenisch & Lutz Schneider, 2010. "Informal social networks and spatial mobility: the enduring impact of communist history in Eastern Germany," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 483-497.
    13. Schwerdt, Guido, 2011. "Labor turnover before plant closure: "Leaving the sinking ship" vs. "Captain throwing ballast overboard"," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 93-101, January.
    14. Schnabel Claus, 2016. "United, Yet Apart? A Note on Persistent Labour Market Differences between Western and Eastern Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(2), pages 157-179, March.
    15. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2015. "Losing Heart? The Effect of Job Displacement on Health," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(4), pages 833-861, August.
    16. Alberto Alesina & Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Paola Giuliano, 2015. "Family Values And The Regulation Of Labor," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 599-630, August.
    17. Alexander Hijzen & Richard Upward & Peter W. Wright, 2010. "The Income Losses of Displaced Workers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 45(1).
    18. Richard Upward & Peter Wright, 2015. "Don’t Look Down: New Evidence on Job Loss in a Flexible Labour Market," Discussion Papers 2015-10, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    19. Zax, Jeffrey S., 1994. "When is a move a migration?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 341-360, June.
    20. Stevens, Ann Huff, 1997. "Persistent Effects of Job Displacement: The Importance of Multiple Job Losses," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 165-188, January.
    21. Gert G. Wagner & Joachim R. Frick & Jürgen Schupp, 2007. "The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) – Scope, Evolution and Enhancements," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 127(1), pages 139-169.
    22. Mitch Renkow & Dale Hoover, 2000. "Commuting, Migration, and Rural‐Urban Population Dynamics," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 261-287, May.
    23. Fischer, Peter A. & Holm, Einar & Malmberg, Gunnar & Straubhaar, Thomas, 2000. "Why do people stay? Insider advantages and immobility," HWWA Discussion Papers 112, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
    24. Kristiina Huttunen & Jarle Møen & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2018. "Job Loss and Regional Mobility," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 479-509.
    25. Fahr, Rene & Sunde, Uwe, 2006. "Spatial mobility and competition for jobs: Some theory and evidence for Western Germany," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 803-825, November.
    26. Kenneth A. Couch & Dana W. Placzek, 2010. "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers Revisited," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 572-589, March.
    27. Alberto Alesina & Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Paola Giuliano, 2015. "Family Values And The Regulation Of Labor," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 599-630, August.
    28. Schmieder, Johannes F. & Wachter, Till von & Bender, Stefan, 2010. "The long-term impact of job displacement in Germany during the 1982 recession on earnings, income, and employment," IAB-Discussion Paper 201001, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    29. Christopher Goetz, 2014. "Unemployment Duration And Geographic Mobility: Do Movers Fare Better Than Stayers?," Working Papers 14-41, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    30. Dohmen, Thomas J., 2005. "Housing, mobility and unemployment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 305-325, May.
    31. Tanja Fendel, 2014. "Work-related Migration and Unemployment [Beschäftigungsmotivierte Umzüge und Arbeitslosigkeit]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 47(3), pages 233-243, September.
    32. François Rycx & David Marsden, 2010. "Wage structures, employment adjustments and globalisation: evidence from linked and firm-level panel data sets," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/13446, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    33. Ham, John C. & Li, Xianghong & Reagan, Patricia B., 2011. "Matching and semi-parametric IV estimation, a distance-based measure of migration, and the wages of young men," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 161(2), pages 208-227, April.
    34. Fendel, Tanja, 2014. "Work-related migration and unemployment," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 47(3), pages 233-243.
    35. Farber, Henry S., 1999. "Mobility and stability: The dynamics of job change in labor markets," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 37, pages 2439-2483, Elsevier.
    36. Kristiina Huttunen & Jarle Møen & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2011. "How Destructive Is Creative Destruction? Effects Of Job Loss On Job Mobility, Withdrawal And Income," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(5), pages 840-870, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maczulskij, Terhi & Böckerman, Petri & Kosonen, Tuomas, 2018. "Job Displacement, Inter-Regional Mobility and Long-Term Earnings," IZA Discussion Papers 11635, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Maczulskij, Terhi & Böckerman, Petri, 2019. "Losing a Job and (Dis)incentives to Move," ETLA Working Papers 75, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    3. Kangoh Lee, 2018. "Fixed‐Rate Mortgages, Labor Markets, and Efficiency," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(5), pages 1033-1072, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fackler, Daniel & Rippe, Lisa, 2016. "Losing work, moving away? Regional mobility after job loss," IWH Discussion Papers 26/2016, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    2. Daniel Fackler & Lisa Rippe, 2017. "Losing Work, Moving Away? Regional Mobility After Job Loss," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 31(4), pages 457-479, December.
    3. Kristiina Huttunen & Jarle Møen & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2018. "Job Loss and Regional Mobility," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 479-509.
    4. Fackler, Daniel & Hank, Eva, 2016. "Who buffers income losses after job displacement? The role of alternative income sources, the family, and the state," IWH Discussion Papers 28/2016, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    5. Daniel Fackler & Eva Hank, 2016. "Who Buffers Income Losses after Job Displacement? The Role of Alternative Income Sources, the Family, and the State," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 863, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    6. Daniel Fackler & Eva Weigt, 2020. "Who Buffers Income Losses after Job Displacement? The Role of Alternative Income Sources, the Family, and the State," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 34(3), pages 239-276, September.
    7. Hank, Eva & Fackler, Daniel, 2017. "Who buffers income losses after job displacement? The role of alternative income sources, the family, and the state," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168098, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. J. Meekes & W.H.J. Hassink, 2016. "The role of the housing market in workers’ resilience to job displacement after firm bankruptcy," Working Papers 16-10, Utrecht School of Economics.
    9. Dahlberg, Matz & Martén, Linna & Öckert, Björn, 2021. "Who recovers from a job loss? The importance of cognitive and non-cognitive skills," Working Paper Series 2021:2, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    10. Meekes, Jordy & Hassink, Wolter H.J., 2019. "The role of the housing market in workers′ resilience to job displacement after firm bankruptcy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 41-65.
    11. Meekes, Jordy & Hassink, Wolter, 2017. "The Role of the Housing Market in Workers' Resilience to Job Displacement after Firm Bankruptcy," IZA Discussion Papers 10894, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Marcus Eliason, 2012. "Lost jobs, broken marriages," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(4), pages 1365-1397, October.
    13. Nils Braakmann, 2018. "Company Closures and the Erosion of the Political Centre: Evidence from Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(4), pages 835-858, December.
    14. Meekes, Jordy & Hassink, Wolter, 2020. "Fired and Pregnant: Gender Differences in Job Flexibility Outcomes after Job Loss," IZA Discussion Papers 13779, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. William J. Carrington & Bruce Fallick, 2017. "Why Do Earnings Fall with Job Displacement?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 688-722, October.
    16. Ichino, Andrea & Schwerdt, Guido & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf & Zweimüller, Josef, 2017. "Too old to work, too young to retire?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 14-29.
    17. Kent Eliasson & Pär Hansson, 2016. "Are workers more vulnerable in tradable industries?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(2), pages 283-320, May.
    18. Gathmann, Christina & Huttunen, Kristiina & Jernström, Laura & Sääksvuori, Lauri & Stitzing, Robin, 2020. "In Sickness and in Health: Job Displacement and Health. Spillovers in Couples," Working Papers 133, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    19. Neffke, Frank & Nedelkoska, Ljubica & Wiederhold, Simon, 2024. "Skill mismatch and the costs of job displacement," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    20. Fackler, Daniel & Müller, Steffen & Stegmaier, Jens, 2017. "Explaining wage losses after job displacement: Employer size and lost firm rents," IWH Discussion Papers 32/2017, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    job displacement; plant closure; regional mobility; earnings; SOEP;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp861. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sodiwde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.