Publication: Work-Related Migration and Poverty Reduction in Nepal
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Published
2010
ISSN
13636669
Date
2012-03-30
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Using two rounds of nationally representative household survey data in this study, we measure the impact on poverty in Nepal of local and international migration for work. We apply an instrumental variables approach to deal with nonrandom selection of migrants and simulate various scenarios for the different levels of migration comparing observed and counterfactual household expenditure distribution. Our results indicate that one-fifth of the poverty reduction in Nepal occurring between 1995 and 2004 can be attributed to higher levels of work-related migration and remittances sent home. We also show that while the increase in international work-related migration was the leading cause of this poverty reduction, domestic migration also played an important role. Our findings demonstrate that strategies for economic growth and poverty reduction in Nepal should consider aspects of the dynamics of domestic and international migration.
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Publication Work-Related Migration and Poverty Reduction in Nepal(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-05)Using two rounds of nationally representative household survey data in this study, the authors measure the impact on poverty in Nepal of local and international migration for work. They apply an instrumental variable approach to deal with nonrandom selection of migrants and simulate various scenarios for the different levels of work-related migration, comparing observed and counterfactual household expenditure distribution. The results indicate that one-fifth of the poverty reduction in Nepal occurring between 1995 and 2004 can be attributed to increased levels of work-related migration and remittances sent home. The authors also show that while the increase in work migration abroad was the leading cause of this poverty reduction, internal migration also played an important role. The findings show that strategies for economic growth and poverty reduction in Nepal should consider aspects of the dynamics of domestic and international migration.Publication The Effect of Male Migration for Work on Employment Patterns of Females in Nepal(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-10)This paper assesses the impact of work-related migration by males on the labor market behavior of females in Nepal. Using data from the 2004 Nepal household survey, the authors apply the Instrumental Variable Full Information Maximum Likelihood method to account for unobserved factors that could simultaneously affect males' decision to migrate and females' decision to participate in the labor market. The results indicate that male migration for work has a negative impact on the level of market work participation by the women left behind. The authors find evidence of substantial heterogeneity (based both on observable and unobservable characteristics) in the impact of male migration. The findings highlight the important gender dimension of the impact of predominantly male worker migration on the wellbeing of sending households. The authors argue that strategies for economic development in Nepal should take into account such gender aspects of the migration dynamics.Publication Seasonal Migration and Early Childhood Development(2010)This paper provides unique evidence of the positive consequences of seasonal migration for investments in early childhood development. We analyze migration in a poor shock-prone border region in rural Nicaragua where it offers one of the main household income diversification and risk-coping strategies. IV estimates show, somewhat surprisingly, that shock-driven migration by mothers has a positive effect on early cognitive development. We attribute these findings to changes in income and to the intra-household empowerment gains resulting from mother's migration, which offset potential negative early childhood development effects from temporary lack of parenting.Publication Moving Up the Ladder? The Impact of Migration Experience on Occupational Mobility in Albania(2011)This study uses the 2005 Albanian Living Standards Measurement Study Survey and estimates the impact of international migration experience on the occupational mobility of return migrants vis-a-vis working-age Albanian residents that never migrated. Controlling for the non-random nature of international migration and return, the results show that past migration experience increases the likelihood of upward occupational mobility. Since such impact is likely to depend on differences in earning potentials and opportunities for skill acquisition across destination countries, we explore the heterogeneity of impact by host country. The results indicate that the positive effect of past migration experience on upward occupational mobility is driven by past migration experience in Italy and countries further afield, while past migration experience in Greece does not exert any significant impact on mobility outcomes.Publication Benefits to Local Communities from Community Conservancies in Namibia: An Assessment(2009)This article evaluates the benefits of community-based activities in wildlife conservancies in Namibia by asking three questions. Do community conservancies contribute to an increase in household welfare? Are such programmes pro-poor; that is, do they improve welfare more for poorer households than for the less poor? Does participation in conservancy increase household welfare more for participants than non-participants? This study bases the analyses on a 2002 survey covering seven conservancies and 1192 households. The results suggest that community conservancies have a positive impact on household welfare. The authors also conclude that this impact is poverty-neutral in some regions and pro-poor in others. Further, welfare benefits from conservancies appear to be fairly evenly distributed between participant and non-participant households.
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