Abstract
We study the migration behavior of displaced workers and find that job displacement increases regional mobility. Wefind, however, that noneconomic factors, such as family ties, are very important for the migration decision and that there is strong heterogeneity in outcomes. We find large income losses for workers who move to regions where they have family or to rural areas, while, for example, rural to urban movers realize a significant long-term earnings increase. We also find that life events related to fertility, divorce, and new relationships correlate with mobility after job loss and may partly explain the large income losses.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 479-509 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Journal | Journal of Labor Economics |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2018 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
We thank Sandy Black, Matti Sarvimäki, and Steve Trejo; seminar participants at the Norwegian School of Economics, the University of Austin, Aalto University, and Jyväskylä University; and participants at the Society of Labor Economists meetings in Seattle and the European Association of Labour Economists meetings in Ljubliana. Kristiina Huttunen gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Finnish Academy. Kjell G. Salvanes and Jarle Møen thank the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence scheme (FAIR project 262675) for financial support. Contact the corresponding author, Kjell G. Salvanes, at