Migration distance from birthplace and its association with relative income and employment share among heterosexual couples in Switzerland

Among heterosexual couples, employment of the female partner may suffer from household migration often driven by the job of the male partner. Most research has traditionally focused on the distance moved after couple formation and has neglected how far partners live from their birthplaces. Recent life course research has shown that staying in, leaving or returning to the place of origin of one or both partners often reflects couples' work–family arrangements. This study contributes to this literature by examining the division of employment between partners and their relative contribution to household income according to migration distances. We analyse data from a national sample of economically active individuals living with heterosexual partners in Switzerland. When controlling for selectivity of migrant couples, the analysis confirms that long-distance household migration benefits men's relative earnings. Among couples who migrated within the same region, employment is more equally shared between partners than among other couples, including nonmigrant couples. The relative distance to birthplaces also matters. Women's contribution to household income is higher among couples in which men migrated close to women's birthplace and is lower among couples where women migrated close to men's birthplace compared to women in other couples. This study suggests that future research on household migration should consider important social ties and places beyond the ‘last family move’ and the mechanisms by which these ties and places influence couples' decisions about where to live together and economic outcomes.