Occupational branch, educational level and gender differences in regional mobility -Sweden 1998-2003

Maria Brandén, Stockholm University

Previous research indicates that educational level affects men’s but not women’s regional mobility. Sex segregation on the labor market however makes it essential to widen the focus to also include occupational branch when studying these gender differences. That is the focus of this paper. Multinomial logistic models are applied on Swedish register data, with a sample containing Swedish dual-earner couples with common children, 1998-2003. Analyses reveal that men and women in various male dominated high level occupations are more prone to move to a new labor market region with their partner than others are. The partner’s occupational branch has a slightly stronger impact on women’s mobility than on men’s. Finally, even after controlling for occupational branch, it is only the man’s educational level that affects the couple’s regional mobility. This indicates that couples consider the man’s investment in a high education more worth relocating for than the woman’s high education.