September 2016

IZA DP No. 10232: Understanding the Effects of Homeownership and Regional Unemployment Levels on Migration during the Economic Crisis in Spain

The Spanish labour market is characterised by high levels of unemployment, which have increased during the global economic crisis. Spain is also a country which is characterised by a very high percentage of homeownership, with more than 83% of households being owner-occupiers. Both regional levels of unemployment and homeownership are known to be important factors influencing the spatial mobility decisions of households, but little is known about how these factors influenced mobility during the recent economic crisis. This paper uses rich individual level microdata from the last two Spanish censuses (2001 and 2011) to study the effect of homeownership and regional unemployment levels on both short and long distance mobility. Our finding suggest that the role, influence and interconnection of unemployment and homeownership in mobility decision have changed in the last decade.