Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10630
Authors: Samuel Bentolila; Francisco Maeso; Ildefonso Mendez
Abstract: Leaving the parental home is often a decision made together by two people. In this paper we present a theoretical model analyzing moving out as a joint decision and then test its implications using a new dataset of university graduates collected in the southern Spanish region of Murcia in 2004-2006, which includes information on partners and their parents. In equilibrium we find some evidence of the importance of assortative mating in moving out. Studying partnership, work, and moving out decisions simultaneously we obtain that the latter depend positively on own human capital and they are affected differently by maternal and paternal characteristics and with different effects on men and women.
Keywords: assortative mating; employment; job security; moving out
JEL Codes: D84; J12; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| positive sorting of partners' and their parents' permanent income (D31) | decision to move out (R21) |
| higher education levels among partners (I24) | likelihood of moving out together (R21) |
| job security of partner (J12) | decision to move out (R21) |
| education level of partner's mother (I24) | moving out decision for men (J26) |
| death of partner's mother (J12) | higher probabilities of moving out for men (J69) |
| job security and parental backgrounds (J29) | dynamics of moving out, working, and having a partner (J12) |