IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/intlab/v162y2023i4p687-713.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

International labour migration, farmland fallowing, livelihood diversification and technology adoption in Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Apsara KARKI NEPAL
  • Mani NEPAL
  • Randall BLUFFSTONE

Abstract

This article investigates the effect of temporary international labour migration on farmland fallowing, adoption of agricultural intensification technologies and livelihood diversification. Using nationally representative data, combined with empirical methods that allow causal inference, the authors find that households with international migrants are over 50 per cent more likely (based on propensity score matching estimates) to have fallow land than those without. Temporary international migration promotes the adoption of some agricultural intensification technologies and causes rural households to diversify their livelihoods. Land fallowing may increase food insecurity, while agricultural intensification may improve it, for an uncertain net effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Apsara KARKI NEPAL & Mani NEPAL & Randall BLUFFSTONE, 2023. "International labour migration, farmland fallowing, livelihood diversification and technology adoption in Nepal," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(4), pages 687-713, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:intlab:v:162:y:2023:i:4:p:687-713
    DOI: 10.1111/ilr.12375
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12375
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ilr.12375?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Apsara Karki Nepal & Martin Halla & Steven Stillman, 2018. "Violent Conflict and the Child Quantity-Quality Tradeoff," Economics working papers 2018-15, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    2. Premachandra Athukorala, 1993. "International Labour Migration in the Asian‐Pacific Region: patterns, policies and economic implications," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 7(2), pages 28-57, November.
    3. Marcus H. Böhme, 2015. "Does migration raise agricultural investment? An empirical analysis for rural Mexico," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(2), pages 211-225, March.
    4. Bowles, Samuel, 1970. "Migration as Investment: Empirical Tests of the Human Investment Approach to Geographical Mobility," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 52(4), pages 356-362, November.
    5. John Gibson & David McKenzie & Steven Stillman, 2011. "The Impacts of International Migration on Remaining Household Members: Omnibus Results from a Migration Lottery Program," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1297-1318, November.
    6. Apsara Karki Nepal & Ghulam Muhammad Shah & Farid Ahmad, 2022. "Is matching in different situations equally applicable for impact evaluation studies when using observational data?," International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 14(1), pages 55-78.
    7. Smith, Lisa C. & El Obeid, Amani E. & Jensen, Helen H., 2000. "The geography and causes of food insecurity in developing countries," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 199-215, March.
    8. Dean Yang, 2008. "International Migration, Remittances and Household Investment: Evidence from Philippine Migrants’ Exchange Rate Shocks," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(528), pages 591-630, April.
    9. Apsara Nepal & Mani Nepal, 2012. "Is child labour a substitute for adult labour? The relationship between child labour and adult illness in Nepal," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 151(1-2), pages 109-121, June.
    10. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    11. Hujer, Reinhard & Caliendo, Marco & Thomsen, Stephan L., 2004. "New evidence on the effects of job creation schemes in Germany--a matching approach with threefold heterogeneity," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 257-302, December.
    12. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    13. Pablo Acosta, 2011. "School Attendance, Child Labour, and Remittances from International Migration in El Salvador," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(6), pages 913-936.
    14. Apsara Karki Nepal, 2016. "The Impact of International Remittances on Child Outcomes and Household Expenditures in Nepal," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(6), pages 838-853, June.
    15. J. Edward Taylor & Scott Rozelle & Alan deBrauw, 1999. "Migration, Remittances, and Agricultural Productivity in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 287-291, May.
    16. Paresh Kumar Narayan & Russell Smyth, 2006. "What Determines Migration Flows From Low‐Income To High‐Income Countries? An Empirical Investigation Of Fiji–U.S. Migration 1972–2001," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 24(2), pages 332-342, April.
    17. Michael P. Murray, 2006. "Avoiding Invalid Instruments and Coping with Weak Instruments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 111-132, Fall.
    18. Mani Nepal & Alok K. Bohara & Kishore Gawande, 2011. "More Inequality, More Killings: The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(4), pages 886-906, October.
    19. Kaygusuz, K., 2011. "Energy services and energy poverty for sustainable rural development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 936-947, February.
    20. Kazi Iqbal & Paritosh K. Roy, 2015. "Climate Change, Agriculture And Migration: Evidence From Bangladesh," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(02), pages 1-31.
    21. Ghulam Muhammad Shah & Apsara Karki Nepal & Golam Rasul & Farid Ahmad, 2018. "Value chain development of bay leaf in Nepal: an impact assessment," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 179-196, April.
    22. Uttam Khanal, 2018. "Why are farmers keeping cultivatable lands fallow even though there is food scarcity in Nepal?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(3), pages 603-614, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ubaid Ali & Mazhar Mughal & Lionel de Boisdeffre, 2023. "Migrant remittances, agriculture investment and cropping patterns," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(3), pages 899-920, September.
    2. Tiwari, Smriti, 2017. "Does Local Development Influence Outmigration Decisions? Evidence from Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 108-124.
    3. Paudel, G. & Krishna, V. & McDonald, A., 2018. "Why some inferior technologies succeed? Examining the diffusion and impacts of rotavator tillage in Nepal Terai," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277149, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Ait Benhamou, Zouhair & Cassin, Lesly, 2021. "The impact of remittances on savings, capital and economic growth in small emerging countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 789-803.
    5. Simone Bertoli & Francesca Marchetta, 2014. "Migration, Remittances and Poverty in Ecuador," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(8), pages 1067-1089, August.
    6. Hari Sharma & John Gibson, 2020. "Effects of International Migration on Child Schooling and Child Labour: Evidence from Nepal," Working Papers in Economics 20/07, University of Waikato.
    7. Marchetta, Francesca & Sim, Sokcheng, 2021. "The effect of parental migration on the schooling of children left behind in rural Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    8. Alm, James & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & McClellan, Chandler, 2016. "Corruption and firm tax evasion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 146-163.
    9. Stefanija Veljanoska, 2022. "Do Remittances Promote Fertilizer Use? The Case of Ugandan Farmers," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(1), pages 273-293, January.
    10. Francisca M. Antman, 2013. "The impact of migration on family left behind," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 16, pages 293-308, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Paudel, Gokul P. & KC, Dilli Bahadur & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Justice, Scott E. & McDonald, Andrew J., 2019. "Scale-appropriate mechanization impacts on productivity among smallholders: Evidence from rice systems in the mid-hills of Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 104-113.
    12. Gaurav Datt & Liang Choon Wang & Samia Badji, 2020. "Is emigration of workers contributing to better schooling outcomes in Nepal?," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 1046-1075, September.
    13. Huang, Bihong & Lian, Yujun & Li, Wensu, 2016. "How far is Chinese left-behind parents' health left behind?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 15-26.
    14. Feng Hu, 2013. "Does migration benefit the schooling of children left behind?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 29(2), pages 33-70.
    15. Mullally, C., 2018. "Migration and economic activity among origin households: the role of female household headship," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276993, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Liu, Mengqi & Villa, Kira M., 2020. "Solution or isolation: Is boarding school a good solution for left-behind children in rural China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    17. José R. Bucheli & Alok K. Bohara & Matías Fontenla, 2018. "Mixed effects of remittances on child education," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-18, December.
    18. de Brauw, Alan, 2018. "Rural-urban migration and implications for rural production," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 6(3), March.
    19. Jan Fałkowski & Maciej Jakubowski & Paweł Strawiński, 2014. "Returns from income strategies in rural Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(1), pages 139-178, January.
    20. N'dri, Lasme Mathieu & Kakinaka, Makoto, 2020. "Financial inclusion, mobile money, and individual welfare: The case of Burkina Faso," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:intlab:v:162:y:2023:i:4:p:687-713. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ilounch.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.