Migration of Couples with Non-Employed and Employed Wives in the Netherlands: the Changing Effects of Partner's Characteristics

Data for 1977 and 1995/96 are used to study (changes in) the effects of the partners’ resources on long-distance migration of couples in the Netherlands. The analyses were performed separately for couples with employed and with non-employed women. In 1977, couples with non-employed women showed the classical pattern of family migration, with strong effects of the human capital and labour market characteristics of the male and the females mostly using their power to prevent migration. The couples with employed women, on the other hand, in 1977 already showed a more modern pattern of family migration. The effects of the male’s occupational prestige and sector were not significant for these couples and an age advantage of the male did not lead to more migration. Over time, the position of the employed women seems to have become even stronger and our results suggest that in 1996 at least some of them were able to initiate a move for their own career and hence to turn their husband into a tied move