Family Ties, Labor Mobility and Interresgional Wage Differentials

The applied research reported here examines the impact of household structures on interregional wage disparities. While migration studies generally suggest that family ties deter labor mobility, there is no clear evidence whether the reduced mobility is reflected in interregional wage differentials. Using a two-step procedure, we examine the conjecture that diminished labor mobility from greater family ties increase inter-regional wage differentials. Results indicate that spatial wage dispersion is greater because of the presence of children, but wage disparities are not enhanced by marriage. Findings consequently suggest that decreased labor mobility from children is reflected in interregional wage differentials, but any restrictive effect on mobility from marriage is not observed in wage variation