Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/296589 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
ZEF Discussion Papers on Development Policy No. 344
Publisher: 
University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF), Bonn
Abstract: 
Temporary migration is a widely observed phenomenon among poor rural households, mostly related to agricultural seasonality. However, household preferences for temporary migration in comparison to longer-term migration, and the differential effects of these migrations on household livelihoods are not yet well understood. Here, we use survey data collected in northern rural Bangladesh to analyze determinants of households' choice between temporary and longer-term migration, and their comparative effects on various livelihood indicators, with a particular focus on agricultural lean periods. Issues of selection bias and endogeneity are addressed with Heckman selection models and instrumental variables. We show that temporary migration is more common than longer-term migration, partly determined by family demographic and farm-labor constraints. Although longer-term migration has larger positive effects on household income, temporary migration has larger positive effects on food consumption and dietary quality during lean periods. These results suggest that temporary migration is an important mechanism for the rural poor to smooth consumption and deserves more attention by researchers and policy-makers.
Subjects: 
Temporary migration
Agricultural lean periods
Food security
Nutrition
Bangladesh
JEL: 
R23
J43
Q18
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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