Internal migration and the earnings of married couples in the United States†

Economic models of migration recognize that potential changes in income are an important factor in the decision to change geographic location within a country's borders. For married couples, gains need not occur for both spouses, and 'tied movers' may on average see their relative earnings fall as a result of internal migration. Previous research suggesting that wives appear on average to be tied movers primarily dates back to the 1970s. Examining data from the 1990s, I find a result similar to this earlier research, with wives losing on average about 20% of their pre-migration earnings. Much of this decline is associated with a decline in work hours for wives. The effect seems to be short-lived, not clearly persisting into the second year following migration.