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Migration and marriage in the life course: a method for studying synchronized events

Histoires de vie migratoire et matrimoniale: une méthode pour étudier des événements synchronisés

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Abstract

One of the main methodological problems in explaining migration from a life course perspective is the adequate modelling of synchronized events. On the basis of a West German sample of residence histories that is representative of three birth cohorts, of which the one born in 1939-41 is analysed, log-linear techniques were applied to separate the effects of being married, and of getting married, on migration rates. Results show that the dependence of short and long distance moves on age substantially diminish if marriage is considered as a synchronization variable. Moreover, the common finding that married persons move less than the unmarried is reversed at short distances if marriage is taken into account as an event which influences the probability of another (event dependence).

Résumé

La modélisation adéquate d'événements synchonisés est l'un des principaux problèmes méthodologiques qui se posent, lorsque l'on étudie la migration dans une perspective biographique. Nous travaillons sur les histoires résidentielles d'un échantillon d'Allemands de l'Ouest, représentatif de trois cohorts de naissances: nous analysons ici celle que est née en 1939–41. L'utilisation d'une modelisation log-linéaire du quotient de migration permet de distinguer les deux types d'effets: l'individu est déjà marié lors de la migration; les deux événements sont synchrones. Les resultats montrent que la dépendance des migrations de courte et de longue distance en fonction de l'age diminue de façon importante lorsque le mariage est considéré comme une variable synchrone. Bienplus, le résultat habituel selon le quel les personnes mariées migrent moins que les non mariées est inversé pour les déplacements de courte distance, lorsque le mariage est considéré comme un événement qui influe sur la probablité d'arrivée de l'autre (dépendance unilaterale).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education, Berlin, Germany

    Michael Wagner

  2. Department of Planning and Demography, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, 1018 VZ, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Clara H. Mulder

Authors
  1. Clara H. Mulder
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  2. Michael Wagner
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Mulder, C.H., Wagner, M. Migration and marriage in the life course: a method for studying synchronized events. Eur J Population 9, 55–76 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01267901

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01267901

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