I Will Follow Him: Family Ties, Gender-Role Beliefs, and Reluctance to Relocate for a Better Job

Abstract

This article tests competing explanations for why wives in dualearner couples are less willing than husbands to relocate for a better job. Hypotheses are derived from a neoclassical market model that assumes spouses maximize family well-being and a sociological alternative that emphasizes the mediating function fo gender-role-ideology in decision making by couples. Results from a maximum-likelihood probit model that uses data from the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey indicate that couples' orientation to the "provider role" shapes how they respond to job opportunities. A husband's potential loss from a move appears to deter wives from capitalizing on opportunities at a new location, but a wife's potential loss does not deter husbands. However, differences by gender are substantially smaller among men and women who reject traditional notions about husbands'and wives' roles within families. Implications for future theoretical development and empirical research are discussed.