Decision-Making in Repeatedly Migrating Couples: Role Conformism, Power Shift, or Package Deal?

Relying on data of four waves of the German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS), it was possible to observe multiple international moves of the same couples during a time span of two years (n = 478). A majority (about 55 %) of second time migrating couples indicated a change in their decision-making pattern. Regression results confirmed that changes in individual negotiation power after the first move was a significant predictor for changes in the decision-making process of female partners migrating multiple times. There is also evidence that migration negotiations between two partners could include binding agreements for multiple subsequent geographical future moves (“package deals”). Taking shifts in the power distribution and the possibility of package deals into account shed new light on the debate about male-dominated family migration decisions.