IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/rwirep/973.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Couples, careers, and spatial mobility

Author

Listed:
  • Nassal, Lea Maria
  • Paul, Marie

Abstract

We investigate the effects of long-distance moves of married couples on both spouses' earnings, employment and job characteristics based on a new administrative dataset from Germany. Employing difference-in-difference propensity score matching and accounting for spouses' premove employment biographies, we show that men's earnings increase significantly after the move, whereas women suffer large losses in the first years. Men's earnings increases are mainly driven by increasing wages and switches to slightly larger and better paying firms. Investigating effect heterogeneity with respect to pre-move relative earnings or for whose job opportunity couples move, confirms strong gender asymmetries in gains to moving.

Suggested Citation

  • Nassal, Lea Maria & Paul, Marie, 2022. "Couples, careers, and spatial mobility," Ruhr Economic Papers 973, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:973
    DOI: 10.4419/96973138
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/265602/1/1820187276.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4419/96973138?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Card & Jörg Heining & Patrick Kline, 2013. "Workplace Heterogeneity and the Rise of West German Wage Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(3), pages 967-1015.
    2. A. Smith, Jeffrey & E. Todd, Petra, 2005. "Does matching overcome LaLonde's critique of nonexperimental estimators?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 305-353.
    3. Dauth, Wolfgang & Eppelsheimer, Johann, 2020. "Preparing the sample of integrated labour market biographies (SIAB) for scientific analysis," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 54(1), pages 1-10.
    4. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra E. Todd, 1997. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(4), pages 605-654.
    5. Dauth, Wolfgang & Eppelsheimer, Johann, 2020. "Preparing the sample of integrated labour market biographies (SIAB) for scientific analysis," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 54(1), pages .10(1-10).
    6. Deborah Goldschmidt & Wolfram Klosterhuber & Johannes F Schmieder, 2017. "Identifying couples in administrative data [Identifizierung von Ehepaaren in Administrativen Daten]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 50(1), pages 29-43, August.
    7. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
    8. Alberto Abadie & Guido W. Imbens, 2016. "Matching on the Estimated Propensity Score," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 84, pages 781-807, March.
    9. Steven Tenn, 2010. "The relative importance of the husband’s and wife’s characteristics in family migration, 1960–2000," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 1319-1337, September.
    10. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 181-209, October.
    11. Marianne Bertrand & Emir Kamenica & Jessica Pan, 2015. "Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 571-614.
    12. Satu Nivalainen, 2004. "Determinants of family migration: short moves vs. long moves," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 17(1), pages 157-175, February.
    13. Thomas Cooke & Paul Boyle & Kenneth Couch & Peteke Feijten, 2009. "A longitudinal analysis of family migration and the gender gap in earnings in the united states and great britain," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(1), pages 147-167, February.
    14. Goldschmidt, Deborah & Klosterhuber, Wolfram & Schmieder, Johannes F., 2017. "Identifying couples in administrative data," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 50(1), pages 29-43.
    15. 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.
    16. Janice Compton & Robert A. Pollak, 2007. "Why Are Power Couples Increasingly Concentrated in Large Metropolitan Areas?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(3), pages 475-512.
    17. repec:iab:iabjlr:v:54:i:1:p:art.10 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Deborah Goldschmidt & Wolfram Klosterhuber & Johannes F Schmieder, 2017. "Identifying couples in administrative data [Identifizierung von Ehepaaren in Administrativen Daten]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 50(1), pages 29-43, August.
    19. Christian Dustmann & Johannes Ludsteck & Uta Schönberg, 2009. "Revisiting the German Wage Structure," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 843-881.
    20. Dora L. Costa & Matthew E. Kahn, 2000. "Power Couples: Changes in the Locational Choice of the College Educated, 1940–1990," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(4), pages 1287-1315.
    21. Kent Eliasson & Robert Nakosteen & Olle Westerlund & Michael Zimmer, 2014. "All in the family: Self-selection and migration by couples," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 101-124, March.
    22. James Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Jeffrey Smith & Petra Todd, 1998. "Characterizing Selection Bias Using Experimental Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(5), pages 1017-1098, September.
    23. Wolfgang Dauth & Johann Eppelsheimer, 2020. "Preparing the sample of integrated labour market biographies (SIAB) for scientific analysis: a guide," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 54(1), pages 1-14, December.
    24. Raquel Fernández & Alessandra Fogli & Claudia Olivetti, 2004. "Mothers and Sons: Preference Formation and Female Labor Force Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1249-1299.
    25. M. L. Blackburn, 2010. "The Impact of Internal Migration on Married Couples' Earnings in Britain," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(307), pages 584-603, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Hannah Illing & Johannes Schmieder & Simon Trenkle, 2024. "The Gender Gap in Earnings Losses After Job Displacement," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(5), pages 2108-2147.
    2. Seema Jayachandran & Lea Nassal & Matthew J. Notowidigdo & Marie Paul & Heather Sarsons & Elin Sundberg, 2024. "Moving to Opportunity, Together," NBER Working Papers 32970, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
      • Seema Jayachandran & Lea Nassal & Matthew Notowidigdo & Marie Paul & Heather Sarsons, 2024. "Moving to Opportunity, Together," Working Papers 326, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    3. Martin Junge & Martin D. Munk & Panu Poutvaara, 2013. "International Migration of Couples," Norface Discussion Paper Series 2013018, Norface Research Programme on Migration, Department of Economics, University College London.
    4. Heiko Stüber & Wolfgang Dauth & Johann Eppelsheimer, 2023. "A guide to preparing the sample of integrated labour market biographies (SIAB, version 7519 v1) for scientific analysis," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Foged, Mette, 2016. "Family migration and relative earnings potentials," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 87-100.
    6. Moritz Drechsel‐Grau & Andreas Peichl & Kai D. Schmid & Johannes F. Schmieder & Hannes Walz & Stefanie Wolter, 2022. "Inequality and income dynamics in Germany," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(4), pages 1593-1635, November.
    7. Ostermann, Kerstin & Eppelsheimer, Johann & Gläser, Nina & Haller, Peter & Oertel, Martina, 2022. "Geodata in labor market research: trends, potentials and perspectives," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 56, pages 1-5.
    8. Katrin Huber & Geske Rolvering, 2023. "Public child care and mothers’ career trajectories," CEPA Discussion Papers 64, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    9. Kent Eliasson & Robert Nakosteen & Olle Westerlund & Michael Zimmer, 2014. "All in the family: Self-selection and migration by couples," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 101-124, March.
    10. Mariotti, Francesco & Mumford, Karen A. & Pena-Boquete, Yolanda, 2015. "Power-Couples and the Colocation Hypothesis Revisited," IZA Discussion Papers 9059, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Bachmann, Ronald & Demir, Gökay & Green, Colin & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2022. "The Role of Within-Occupation Task Change in Wage Development," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264113, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    12. Kamila Cygan-Rehm, 2022. "Lifetime Consequences of Lost Instructional Time in the Classroom: Evidence from Shortened School Years," CESifo Working Paper Series 9892, CESifo.
    13. Illing, Hannah & Koch, Theresa, 2021. "Who Suffers the Greatest Loss? Costs of Job Displacement for Migrants and Natives," IAB-Discussion Paper 202108, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    14. Freund, L. B., 2022. "Superstar Teams: The Micro Origins and Macro Implications of Coworker Complementarities," Janeway Institute Working Papers 2235, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    15. Katrin Huber & Geske Rolvering, 2023. "Public child care and mothers’ career trajectories," Working Papers 228, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    16. Bachmann, Ronald & Martinez Flores, Fernanda & Rulff, Christian, 2022. "Die Lohnlücke in der Zeitarbeit: Eine empirische Analyse auf Grundlage von BA-Daten und der Verdienststrukturerhebung," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 262219, March.
    17. Da Ke, 2021. "Who Wears the Pants? Gender Identity Norms and Intrahousehold Financial Decision‐Making," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(3), pages 1389-1425, June.
    18. Martin D Munk & Till Nikolka & Panu Poutvaara, 2022. "International family migration and the dual-earner model [On the origin of gender roles: women and the plough]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 263-287.
    19. Gordon B Dahl & Christina Felfe & Paul Frijters & Helmut Rainer, 2022. "Caught between Cultures: Unintended Consequences of Improving Opportunity for Immigrant Girls," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(5), pages 2491-2528.
    20. Bachmann, Ronald & Martinez Flores, Fernanda & Rulf, Christian, 2022. "Die Lohnlücke in der Zeitarbeit: Eine empirische Analyse auf Grundlage der Integrierten Erwerbsbiografien und der Verdienststrukturerhebung," RWI Materialien 153, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Long-distance moves; labor market careers; gender gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    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:zbw:rwirep:973. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rwiesde.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.