Embeddedness in voluntary associations and the timing of geographic moves

I develop and test a theory of the relationship between geographic mobility and the geographic scope of voluntary associations (VAs). Geographic scope is linked theoretically to overlap in the membership sets of VAs. Local VAs are theorized to have a high degree of overlap in membership, while cosmopolitan VAs have a low degree of membership overlap. While membership in local VAs suppresses geographic mobility, membership in cosmopolitan VAs does not. In addition, the effect of geographic mobility on VA membership is found to vary by geographic scope.