Migration in a family way

Abstract

Abstract This review traces the evolution of family migration research from one that was very narrowly focused on the trailing wife effect, to a transdisciplinary research topic which has the potential to greatly improve our understanding of family dynamics, life course events, family well‐being, gender differences in employment and earnings, and most importantly, migration research. The emerging scholarship surrounding family migration suggests that, firstly, family migration is extremely complicated and moves well beyond any conceptualisation that is brought to bear on individual migration, and secondly, a great deal of what has been traditionally thought of as individual migration should be more appropriately conceived of as family migration. The implication, of course, is that internal migration research should embrace the family as a central component of migration, or rather that family migration should move front and centre in discussions regarding migration in general. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.