Does Migration Empower Married Women?

Comparative differences in gender based labor market discrimination across different countries suggests that migration may affect husbands and wives differently. If wives experience a comparative improvement in their labor market position, bargaining theory suggests that they should experience comparatively more favorable outcomes. However, if renegotiation possibilities are limited, the opposite may be true, particularly if there is marked gender-based specialization in household production and childrearing and if the labor market allows comparatively more flexibility in the labor supply choices of part-time working women. Evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel indeed suggests that renegotiation possibilities are limited for migrants, and that a comparatively higher market wage for women does not translate into comparatively better migration outcomes for them