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Divorce and mobility: Who moves from the family home after separation?

Divorce and mobility: Who moves from the family home after separation?. Clara H. Mulder and Michael Wagner Universities of Amsterdam, Cologne. Research aim. Explain who leaves the joint home upon separation: the man, the woman, or both

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Divorce and mobility: Who moves from the family home after separation?

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  1. Divorce and mobility: Who moves from the family home after separation? Clara H. Mulder and Michael WagnerUniversities of Amsterdam, Cologne

  2. Research aim Explain who leaves the joint home upon separation: the man, the woman, or both Previous research: Not that much. Some studies for Germany, Denmark, U.K. (see paper)

  3. Theory: starting points • Assumption 1: decision to separate implies at least one partner leaves and is followed by a decision (of one partner or of the couple) about who leaves • Assumption 2: staying is generally preferred over moving out (inertia; stress of moving; disruption of housing career) • Staying leads to increased housing cost

  4. Situations • One partner makes a one-sided decision → that partner moves out • A partner cannot afford to stay → that partner moves out (could be both) • All other cases: joint decision

  5. How to reach a decision • Power: Who is in a better position • Who has lower costs or who gains more from moving out:- Fairness rule- Greater inclination to move

  6. Hypotheses

  7. Resources • Affording to stay: greater absolute resources (income, education): smaller likelihood of moving • Affording to stay and power: greater relative resources (income difference, difference in level of education, age difference): smaller likelihood of moving

  8. Costs of moving (1) Higher if location-specific capital is greater:(and (P): more power) • Individual ownership of the home (P) • One partner lived in the home, other moved in (P) • Local ties: presence of parent(s) in municipality of residence • Local ties: long history of residence

  9. Costs of moving (2) Higher for the partner who has invested more in the partnership • Mostly the woman; asymmetry more salient with greater investments (long duration of partnership, children)

  10. Costs of moving (3) • Higher for the partner who gets custody of the children • Lower if greater interest in the separation (initiative mainly one partner). Also greater likelihood of one-sided decision

  11. Gains from moving Greater if new partner. Also greater likelihood of one-sided decision

  12. Data set 1 Divorce in the Netherlands 1998 (Scheiding in Nederland or SIN) Selection of those respondents who divorced or separated between 1975 and 1998 and who answered the question who of the partners left the joint home (N=1732)

  13. Data set 2 Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS), main sample, Waves 1 (2003) and 2 (2007) • Sample a: Those two-sex couples who separated between Waves 1 and 2 (N = 174) • Sample b: Those who had separated recently before Wave 1 (N = 186)

  14. Methods • Couple analysis: who moves out • crosstabs male / female / both • Multinomial logit model • Data: SIN and NKPS Sample a • Individual analysis: does respondent move • logit models all, male respondents, female respondents, test for difference • Data: (SIN and) NKPS Samples a + b

  15. Results: Relative resources • Income: Man tends to move out if woman earns more • Education: both tend to move out if both highly educated (unexpected); otherwise no significant differences • Age difference: If man older, woman tends to move out and vice versa

  16. Results: who moves out • Man moves out more frequently • All else equal: woman is more likely to move out • Minority of cases: both move out

  17. Results: Absolute resources • No signs that those with few resources move out more frequently (rather the opposite)

  18. Results: Location-specific capital (1)

  19. Results: Location-specific capital (2) • Other partner moved in: strong negative effect on moving out • Parents live close: marked negative effect for women • Same municipality as age 15: marked negative effect

  20. Results: other costs of moving (1) • Difference in investments. Longer duration of partnership: woman less likely to move out

  21. Results: other costs of moving (2)

  22. Results: other costs of moving (3)

  23. Results: Gains of moving New partner: greater likelihood of moving out for both men and women

  24. Conclusions (1) • Resources → Support for relative resources, no support for absolute resources • Costs of moving: location specific capital → Support • Costs of moving: asymmetry of investments in partnership (woman invests more) → Support • Costs and gains of moving: custody of children, interest in separation, new partner → Support • Overall picture: fairness / justice / entitlement seems important

  25. Conclusions (2) Gender differences: • Men move out more frequently, but not conditionally on individual and couple characteristics • Individual home-ownership and partner moving in: less frequent for women • Child custody: more frequently women • Initiative to separate: more frequently women

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