This paper examines how internal migration barriers affect marriage and migration decisions, shaping marital sorting and the spatial distribution of human capital. Using a structural matching model, I explore the trade-offs individuals and couples face when choosing spouses, marriage markets, and labor markets. The counterfactual analysis shows that removing migration barriers substantially affects both individual and joint migration decisions, which can be masked when only observing total population flows from rural to urban areas. Further, I document how this policy alters marital sorting patterns, and increases the prevalence of joint migration. Assortative mating by education persists, but highly educated couples become more evenly distributed across regions. These findings highlight the broader implications of migration policies on household dynamics and regional inequality.
