Volume 17 - Article 20 | Pages 591–622  

Family migration and mobility sequences in the United States: Spatial mobility in the context of the life course

By William A.V. Clark, Suzanne Davies Withers

This article is part of the Special Collection 6 "Interdependencies in the Life Course: Family, Fertility, and Migration"

Abstract

Significant changes in family composition in the past quarter-century raise important questions about life-course outcomes embedded in these family changes, especially in relation to the migratory and mobility patterns of individuals and families. The classic distinction between long-distance/employment and short-distance/housing-related moves may be eroding. Patterns of movement appear much less dichotomous and more diverse as family structures become more diverse.
Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics this study shows that the previous research, which suggested relatively simple links between long-distance and short-distance moves, is an over-simplification. Moreover, there is much more unintended movement at both migratory and mobility scales suggesting the economic models of employment migration may be missing important family dynamics in the migration mobility process.

Author's Affiliation

• William A.V. Clark - University of California, Los Angeles, United States of America EMAIL
• Suzanne Davies Withers - University of Washington, United States of America EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Transitions to partnership and parenthood: Is China still traditional?
Volume 43 - Article 6

Introduction to the special collection on life course decisions of families in China
Volume 43 - Article 5

Loss aversion and duration of residence
Volume 35 - Article 36

Do women delay family formation in expensive housing markets?
Volume 27 - Article 1

A comparative analysis of leaving home in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany
Volume 7 - Article 17

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