Gender role beliefs and family migration

Consistent empirical evidence demonstrates that demographic indicators associated with traditional gender roles, such as the presence of children, are linked to the negative effect of moving on married women's employment and earnings. However, very few studies have directly examined how gender role beliefs are related to family migration behaviour. This analysis demonstrates that when a couple shares egalitarian gender role beliefs, the family has a lower probability of moving when the wife is employed and has a higher probability of moving when the wife is unemployed and wants to work. Among couples that do not share traditional gender role beliefs, migration appears to be unaffected by the employment status of the wife. This study is one of the few which clearly demonstrates that family migration is contingent on the gender role beliefs of husbands and wives. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.