Moving and union formation in the transition to adulthood in the United States

Although previous research has paid attention to profound changes in union formation among young adults, few studies have incorporated moving events in the estimation of union formation. Moreover, less attention has been given to detailed moving experiences in young adults’ life course. Using panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, we examine the relationship between moving and first union formation of young adults in the United States. Moving events are aggregated by distance moved, economic conditions in origin and destination places (i.e. moving within the same county, moving to new counties with better or the same economic conditions, and moving to new counties with worse economic conditions) and the time since a move. Our findings suggest that moving events, regardless of type, are significantly related to first union formation for females while the time since a move is important to union formation of males.