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Contextualised Mobility Histories of Moving Desires and Actual Moving Behaviour

Author

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  • Coulter, Rory

    (University of Cambridge)

  • van Ham, Maarten

    (Delft University of Technology)

Abstract

Conceptually, adopting a life course approach when analysing residential mobility enables us to investigate how experiencing particular life events affects mobility decision-making and behaviour throughout individual lifetimes. Yet although a growing body of longitudinal research links mobility decision-making to subsequent moving behaviour, most studies focus solely upon examining year-to-year transitions. As a result of this 'snap-shot' approach, little is known about how pre-move thoughts and subsequent mobility relate over longer periods within the context of dynamic life course trajectories. Current research therefore fails to distinguish ephemeral moving desires from those which are persistently expressed. This study is one of the first to move beyond investigating year-to-year transitions to explore the long term sequencing of moving desires and mobility behaviour within individual life courses. Using innovative techniques to visualise the sequences of a panel of British Household Panel Survey respondents, the study demonstrates that the meanings and significance of particular transitions in moving desires and mobility behaviour become apparent only when these transitions are arranged into individual mobility histories. We uncover previously ignored groups of individuals persistently unable to act in accordance with their moving desires. Visualising mobility histories also highlights the oft-neglected importance of residential stability over the life course.

Suggested Citation

  • Coulter, Rory & van Ham, Maarten, 2011. "Contextualised Mobility Histories of Moving Desires and Actual Moving Behaviour," IZA Discussion Papers 6146, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6146
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    Cited by:

    1. Lina Hedman & David Manley & Maarten van Ham & John Östh, 2015. "Cumulative exposure to disadvantage and the intergenerational transmission of neighbourhood effects," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 195-215.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    longitudinal data; residential mobility; life course; moving desires; sequence analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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