Gender Differences in Residential Mobility : The Case of Leaving Home in East Germany

This study uses geo-coded data from 11 waves (2000 – 2010) of the SOEP to investigate gender differences in the spatial mobility of N = 2,072 young adults initially leaving their parental home. In West Germany, we find no gender differences in moving distances. In East Germany, young women are considerably more mobile than men. Almost 30% of East German women move across 100 km or more, compared to only 18% of East German men. The multivariate models reveal that these differences are not explained by the gender gap in education. Instead, they are attributable to East German women's higher propensity of moving to West Germany