Migration, daily commuting, or second residence? The role of location-specific capital and distance to workplace in regional mobility decisions

Abstract

BACKGROUND If a new job is located in a different region from the place of residence, individuals or households can choose between moving or commuting. However, so far mobility alternatives and their drivers remain under-researched from a comparative perspective. OBJECTIVE We investigate the determinants of the mobility choices of individuals who have taken a distant job (50 km or more), considering three options, (1) permanent migration, (2) daily commuting, (3) weekly commuting (i.e., a second residence), thereby focusing on the interplay between migration costs linked to different sources of location-specific capital (property ownership, working partner, school-age children) and transition costs linked to the distance travelled.