Correlations Between Family Patterns and Short-Term Economic Outcomes of Emigration

The focus of this paper is on how parental and partnership status as well as status changes (e.g. union dissolution) shape emigrants’ economic outcomes, considering both individual- and household-level outcome measures. Using data from German emigrants (GERPS), a two-part strategy accounting for state-dependence of employment trajectories is being applied. Considering not only individual but also destination country characteristics, multilevel models are estimated. Results are highly gendered: For female emigrants, living with their spouse was found to negatively relate to employment probabilities and personal income (individual-level economic outcomes), but benefits were observed at the household level. Similarly, for female emigrants individual-level outcomes were found to be negatively associated with having children and with childbirth. At the same time, male emigrants’ economic outcomes after migration were less affected by family status or status change. These results show that even among privileged emigrants from a relatively egalitarian society, traditionally gendered patterns of gains and losses after migration emerge.