One factor not mentioned in the article is the two-body problem: In a society where most families have two incomes, moving is only possible after finding two jobs in the same area.
From a previous article on the subject: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/november_december_...
Interesting, but not necessarily enough to rule out a connection -- I would expect a spouse who works part-time in a low-wage would provide less friction than a spouse who works full-time in a professional capacity. Women (let's be honest, that's mostly who we're talking about here) may not have increased their penetration of the job market over the past few decades, but they have certainly moved upwards -- and into jobs which are harder to drop on short notice.
A middle-class two-income late-20s couple 30 years ago could still comfortably afford the mortgage or rent on a family home if the lower earner stopped working (as was almost always the case when a baby arrived).
I think the statement just barely covers what 2 incomes mean in the 80s verses now. It's far easier to move if one skilled and one unskilled partner find a new job. A scientist and a secretary for example. It's much more complicated when 2 partners have career and salary parity.
Whether that makes economic sense for those other countries I am not sure. It does make some political sense: the high-earning locals can find work anywhere, but low-earning ones are more likely going to stay in their own country, where they would prefer not to compete with foreigners.
Not every country works this way; the UK for example grants many spouses and partners the right to work (but read about their new "12 month cooling off period" before you apply!).
If I lifted you up and put you down in Austin, are you saying you'd be completely unable to find work?
No, but I'd certainly prefer to find work before moving.
If one single person can move first and find a job second, why can't one married person do the same (on the assumption that the other one has already found a job)?
There are a lot of dual-income couples who would be severely stressed by losing one of their incomes.
Relocating when only one person has a job would result in a large decrease in consumption - from a house/car/groceries to a smaller house, cheaper car and trader joe instead of whole foods.
No alcohol, but it's the same ownership as Trader Joe's I think (and cheaper, also with lots of good cheese)
I live a three minute walk from Wegmans but I would rather drive to Aldi's; you don't escape Wegmans with three bags of groceries for $40-60.
Let's say I'm an expert in discovering new drugs, and my partner is a dancer for a professional ballet company.
For me to take a job that ended her professional career (or vice-versa) the payoff would have to be huge.
For example, my friend is a civil engineer. There's lots of civil engineering jobs in the US, but his wife works as a chemical engineer. Chemical engineering jobs are largely where either oil/gas deposits are, or large amounts of water (water for processing and/or waterways/railroad for shipping). So I imagine for them it will be where ever she needs to move he'll need to follow, versus the other way around, lest they end up in some place where she can't use the degree she spent 4 years getting.