WHY DO COUPLES RELOCATE?

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the determinants of family migration from a post-socialist country, the former German Democratic Republic (today, the eastern part of reunified Germany), to a western country, West Germany. The paper seeks to answer the following questions: (1) How does the migration behavior of married and cohabitating men and women differ from that of individuals who live alone? (2) What factors influence family migration? (3) Are there gender-specific differences in the factors that influence migration? Hypotheses are derived from theories of gender roles, household economics, and bargaining to investigate the migration of individuals and families. Data from the Socio-Economic Panel Study covering the period 1992 to 2007 are analyzed using logistic hierarchical regression models. The results show that the male partner's education level is the most important determinant of migration, whereas the female partner's education is of secondary importance. The results generally support the predictions of gender role theory. Despite their egalitarian views and socialization in a socialist country, couples from East Germany exhibit a traditional orientation toward gender roles when making migration decisions.

Keywords:

• family migration
• unemployment
• household economic theory
• bargaining theory
• gender role theory

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Hans-Peter Blossfeld and Herbert Brücker for their advice and support.

Notes

¹For the population of the GDR in 1989, please see the Statistisches Jahrbuch der DDR (1998) Berlin: Staatsverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, p. 335. For more recent figures, see the Statistical Yearbook for the Federal Republic of Germany, Statistisches Bundesamt, Wiesbaden (2006). The figures that are presented do not include East Berlin because the statistical office does not differentiate between East and West Berlin after 2000.

²However, other factors such as fertility decline and migration abroad have also contributed to this decrease in the population (see Statistisches Bundesamt 20 Jahre Deutsche Einheit, Statistisches Bundesamt, Wiesbaden 2010: 10).

³Of all the relocations, 12% occur within East Germany and 60% within West Germany. In total, 3% of all the relocations within East Germany and 3% of the relocations to West Germany originate in Berlin. These numbers are based on calculations using information from the Statistical Yearbook for the Federal Republic of Germany, Statistisches Bundesamt, Wiesbaden 2010.

⁴See the Statistical Yearbook for the Federal Republic of Germany (2010), Statistisches Bundesamt, Wiesbaden.

⁵By 1996, two-thirds of all employed East Germans had changed jobs (Matthes 2004).

⁶See Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder (2006). Internationale Bildungsindikatoren im Ländervergleich. Wiesbaden, Statistisches Bundesamt, p. 29ff.

⁷East Berlin is considered to be a part of East Germany, and West Berlin is considered to be a part of West Germany.

⁸Couples with separate households are excluded because for them, living apart may be a direct alternative to migration.

⁹Thus, either partner could theoretically receive a job offer.

¹⁰For individuals, only the first move was considered. Couples could end their relationships after moving to West Germany, after which one of the members could return to East Germany and find another partner with whom he or she could migrate again.