Love in motion: Migration patterns of internationally mobile couples

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents an investigation of the migration pattern of internationally mobile couples using data from the first wave of the German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS). GERPS provides information on more than 5,000 couples from which at least one spouse has recently emigrated from Germany or has recently remigrated to Germany. The analyses are theoretically framed by the so‐called trailing wife hypothesis that suggests a clear, gender‐related migration pattern following traditional gender roles. Because most research deals with internal migration, we extend understanding of these topics by investigating international migration. The results of multinomial logistic regressions provide clear evidence for the trailing wife hypothesis but only with regard to couples' timing of emigration. In contrast, women have a higher propensity to become the leading spouse when it comes to remigration. These results contribute to the ongoing debate about tied movers and family‐related inequalities in migration.