Abstract

PIP: This paper analyzes the effects of long-distance migration on the labor-force participation of married women in the Netherlands by using data from the Dutch Labour-Force Surveys for the years 1977 and 1995-96. This study included married and cohabiting women aged 22-59 years. The purpose of this analysis was to gain more insight into the factors that determine whether or not these highly motivated women re-enter the labor market after the move. Results showed that married women who migrated in the year before the interview to another province had lesser participation in paid employment than other married women. Moreover, long distance migration negatively affects the labor-force participation of married women in the Netherlands. The intensity of the migration effect also differs among different groups of married women. The data from 1995-96 demonstrated that women with higher education and women who live in Randstad experienced less negative effects of migration. On the contrary, women with children at home and women whose husbands occupied higher job positions experienced stronger negative effects of migration.