This paper documents how the decisions of young adults to return to live with their parents (‘boomerang’) may contribute to low or declining levels of out-migration from weak labor markets. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and a locational choice model, we find that the likelihood of a non-boomerang location being chosen by a young adult increases with local wages, while wages have a much smaller effect on selecting the boomerang option. In addition, the likelihood that a boomerang location is selected actually increases with the location's unemployment rate. The lower sensitivity of boomerang moves to positive labor market features is substantive in magnitude. We document two distinct ways in which boomerang moves dampen labor market adjustments. Among young adults living in the same labor market as their parent, simulated negative labor market shocks in the form of increases in unemployment accompanied by decreases in wages result in a greater increase in boomeranging than leaving the labor market, hence a residential rather than labor market adjustment. Among young adults living in a different labor market than their parent, boomerang moves are more likely to result in worse destination labor markets than are non-boomerang moves, though a large share of both types of moves are to weaker labor markets.

本文记录了年轻人返回与父母住在一起的决定（“回旋镖”）如何导致劳动力市场疲软的外迁水平较低或下降。使用收入动态面板研究和位置选择模型，我们发现年轻人选择非回旋镖位置的可能性随着当地工资的增加而增加，而工资对选择回旋镖选项的影响要小得多。此外，选择回旋镖位置的可能性实际上增加了与该地区的失业率。回旋镖对积极劳动力市场特征的较低敏感性在很大程度上是实质性的。我们记录了回旋镖运动抑制劳动力市场调整的两种不同方式。在与其父母生活在同一劳动力市场的年轻人中，以失业率上升伴随工资下降的形式模拟劳动力市场的负面冲击导致回力劳动的增加比离开劳动力市场更大，因此是住宅市场而不是劳动力市场调整。在与父母居住在不同劳动力市场的年轻人中，与非回旋镖移动相比，回旋镖移动更有可能导致更糟糕的目的地劳动力市场，尽管这两种移动的很大一部分都是前往较弱的劳动力市场。