The Local Costs of Moving: How Residential Moves Weaken Local Engagement

Abstract

How do residential moves influence movers’ engagement? Drawing on German household panel data, I demonstrate that moving leads to a temporary decline in local engagement but leaves national engagement unchanged. I theorize that this drop stems from weaker attachments to place, reduced local political knowledge, and disrupted social ties. Consistent with this interpretation, longer-distance moves—which tend to exacerbate these barriers—are especially disruptive to movers’ local engagement. I then use comprehensive administrative data on all moves in Germany to rule out an alternative mechanism: most moves occur between socio-politically similar environments, limiting opportunities for moves to influence engagement through contextual change. These findings depart from the prevailing focus in related scholarship on the United States, national engagement, and partisanship. By documenting the political consequences of domestic migration for local engagement, this study contributes to research on residential mobility and local democratic accountability.