MPC Member Publications

This database contains a listing of population studies publications written by MPC Members. Anyone can add a publication by an MPC student, faculty, or staff member to this database; new citations will be reviewed and approved by MPC administrators.

Full Citation

Title: Rethinking the Two-Body Problem: The Segregation of Women Into Geographically Dispersed Occupations

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2014

Abstract: Empirical research on the family cites the tendency for couples to relocate for husbands' careers as evidence against the gender neutrality of household economic decisions. For these studies, occupational segregation is a concern because occupations are not random by sex and mobility is not random by occupation. I find that the tendency for households to relocate for husbands' careers is better explained by the segregation of women into geographically dispersed occupations rather than by the direct prioritization of men's careers. Among never-married workers, women relocate for work less often than men, and the gender effect disappears after occupational segregation is accounted for. Although most two-earner families feature husbands in geographically clustered jobs involving frequent relocation for work, families are no less likely to relocate for work when it belongs to the wife. I conclude that future research in household mobility should treat occupational segregation occurring prior to marriage rather than gender bias within married couples as the primary explanation for the prioritization of husbands' careers in household mobility decisions.

Url: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1925913

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Benson, Alan

Periodical (Full): Demography

Issue: 5

Volume: 51

Pages: 1619-1639

Countries:

IPUMS NHGIS NAPP IHIS ATUS Terrapop