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Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 36 No. 2 2018

Job Loss and Regional Mobility

Kristiina Huttunen1,2; Jarle Møen3; Kjell G. Salvanes3

1 IZA - Institute of Labor Economics · 2 Aalto University · 3 Norwegian School of Economics

open access

Abstract

We study the migration behavior of displaced workers and find that job displacement increases regional mobility. We find, 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.

DOI
10.1086/694587
Volume
36
Issue
2
Pages
479-509
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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