Introduction to the special collection on spatial mobility, family dynamics, and gender relations

BACKGROUND There is growing evidence that spatial mobility has an impact on and is driven by family dynamics and gender relations. In contexts where family diversity and complexity have increased and gender inequalities persist, it is particularly urgent that we advance our understanding of decisions regarding spatial mobility and of its patterns and outcomes, in relation to families and gender.

CONTRIBUTION This special collection highlights the importance of and presents novel findings on the interplay between spatial mobility, family dynamics, and gender relations. It unites new research perspectives that expand existing horizons with rigorous and innovative empirical studies. Contributions to this special collection deal with a number of underresearched areas that include, but are not restricted to, non-coresident family ties and gender differences in willingness to move, circular mobility patterns, and the nonlabour market outcomes of family migration. The insights contained in the articles in this collection not only clarify concrete associations but also offer roadmaps for revealing the mechanisms that explain them.