Interregional migration and post‐move employment in two‐earner families: Evidence from Finland

Abstract

Nivalainen S. (2005) Interregional migration and post‐move employment in two‐earner families: evidence from Finland, Regional Studies 39 , 891–907. This paper investigates the post‐move employment of men and women in Finnish two‐earner families, taking account of selection bias and heteroskedasticity. A unique data set consisting of actual couples is used. Heteroskedasticity does not seem to be a great problem, but the results demonstrate the importance of the selectivity correction: unobservable characteristics exist that both increase migrants' employment potential and make them more mobile. Migration itself generally exerts a negative effect, i.e. migrants have a lower tendency to be employed than stayers. However, average inspections may mask a wide variation. Extended analysis shows that migration in fact leaves the majority of husbands unaffected, and that some husbands actually benefit from moving. Instead, migration has a negative impact on wives in all cases. Hence, the results suggest that the husband's employment considerations are weighted more, and that wives are often the tied parties in family migration.