With the Brexit underway, EU migrants in the UK will soon have to make their own decisions about whether to leave or remain in the country under an alternative legal status to the one they previously held. In an environment of uncertainty, with several concrete and yet uncharted options, EU nationals are largely choosing the latter. Curiously, it’s the uncertainty surrounding their future rights to stay which leads them to having more concrete plans.

The decision to pick up and move is a complex one. Migrating involves both direct costs — the move itself — and indirect, opportunity costs, or the foregone benefits of staying put. Moving a household exacerbates this complexity. A new study by Sergi Vidal, Francisco Perales, Philipp M. Lersch and Maria Brandén confirms that this is especially true for dual-earner couples, couples in which both members work outside the home. In principle, this means expanding female labour force participation and shrinking earnings gaps could restrict family moves in the future.