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Family migration in a cross-national perspective: the importance of within-couple employment arrangements in Australia, Britain, Germany, and Sweden
[journal article]
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 natio... view more
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.... view less
Keywords
dual career couple; migration; regional mobility; women's employment; division of labor; gender-specific factors; gender role; work-family balance; family policy; international comparison; Australia; Great Britain; Federal Republic of Germany; Sweden
Classification
Women's Studies, Feminist Studies, Gender Studies
Family Sociology, Sociology of Sexual Behavior
Free Keywords
cross-national comparison; dual-earner couples; event history analysis; family migration; institutional context
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 307-338
Journal
Demographic Research, 36 (2017)
Issue topic
Finding Work-Life Balance: History, Determinants, and Consequences of New Breadwinning Models in the Industrialized World
ISSN
1435-9871
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed