Women's Labor Force Participation and the Residential Mobility of Families

Families in which the wife works are more likely to undertake short-distance moving and slightly less likely to undertake long-distance migration than families in which the wife does not work. The effect of the wife' employment is greater in raising the family' local mobility rates than in lowering migration rates. The reasons behind these findings are explored, along with the implied consequences. It is concluded that the migration of husbands interferes substantially with career development among wives and in this way contributes to explaining why women earn less than men at the same age, occupation, and educational level.