@article{Vidal_S20_10,
author = {Vidal, Sergi and Brandén, Maria and Lersch, Philipp M. and Perales, Francisco},
title={{Family migration in a cross-national perspective: The importance of institutional and cultural context}},
journal = {Demographic Research},
volume = {S20},
number = {10},
pages = {307--338},
doi = {10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.10},
year = {2017},
abstract = {Objective: Migration rates of dual-earner couples are lower than those of male-breadwinner couples. We revisit this issue using a cross-national comparative perspective and examine heterogeneity in the role of female employment in couple relocations. We propose a theoretical framework in which national levels of support for female employment and normative expectations about gender roles act as moderators of the relationship between couple type (i.e., dual-earner and male-breadwinner) and family migration. 

Methods: We deploy discrete-time event history analyses of harmonised longitudinal data from four large-scale datasets from Australia, Britain, Germany, and Sweden, covering the 1992-2011 period. 

Results: Consistent with prior research, we find that male-breadwinner couples migrate more often than dual-earner couples in all countries, suggesting that traditional gender structures affecting family migration operate across very different contexts. We also find cross-country differences in the estimated effects of different sorts of absolute and relative partner resources on family migration. 

Conclusions: We take our results as preliminary evidence that national contexts can serve as moderators of the relationship between within-couple employment arrangements and family migration decisions. 

Contribution: Our study contributes to family migration literature by illustrating how cross-national comparisons are a valuable methodological approach to put prevailing micro-level explanations of the relationship between female employment and family migration in context. },
URL = {https://www.demographic-research.org/special/20/10/},
eprint = {https://www.demographic-research.org/special/20/10/s20-10.pdf}
}