IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-04538-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of migration in post-soviet communities: the changing structure of rural livelihoods in Moldova

Author

Listed:
  • Matteo Masotti

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna)

  • Andrei Lucian Turlea

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna)

  • Matteo Vittuari

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna)

Abstract

The nexus between migration and differentiation of livelihood strategies in sending countries is a widely investigated topic. However, this nexus has been often approached from narrow perspectives, highlighting the impact of migration only on limited elements of households’ livelihood strategies, typically related to the economic impact of remittances. This research presents a multi-level analysis of the migration-livelihood differentiation nexus, adopting the Republic of Moldova as a case study. Starting from two sets of original quantitative and qualitative data, a model-based cluster analysis allowed to identify 8 typologies of farmers with distinctive livelihood and income generation strategies. Then, a logistic regression model was developed to assess the impacts of demographic, economic, and social characteristics of rural households on the adoption of different livelihood choices. Finally, results from cluster analysis and logistic regression were integrated and discussed through qualitative data collected with interviews and focus groups conducted in Moldova between September 2020 and December 2022. Results shows that the impact of migration in the livelihood strategies adopted by Moldovan smallholders is multifaceted, ranging from the prevalent role of pure subsistence to the limited role of incentive for investing in higher added value activities, both in and off farm. Finally, out-migration represents a fundamental part of the livelihood strategy to cope with the multifaceted challenges experienced daily by rural households.

Suggested Citation

  • Matteo Masotti & Andrei Lucian Turlea & Matteo Vittuari, 2025. "The role of migration in post-soviet communities: the changing structure of rural livelihoods in Moldova," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04538-z
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04538-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04538-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-04538-z?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michele Tuccio & Jackline Wahba & Bachir Hamdouch, 2019. "International migration as a driver of political and social change: evidence from Morocco," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(4), pages 1171-1203, October.
    2. Martin, Sarah M. & Lorenzen, Kai, 2016. "Livelihood Diversification in Rural Laos," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 231-243.
    3. Giuliano, Paola & Ruiz-Arranz, Marta, 2009. "Remittances, financial development, and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 144-152, September.
    4. Mbiba, Beacon & Mupfumira, Daisy, 2022. "Rising to the occasion: Diaspora remittances to Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    5. Ira N. Gang & Kseniia Gatskova & John Landon-Lane & Myeong-Su Yun, 2018. "Vulnerability to Poverty: Tajikistan During and After the Global Financial Crisis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 925-951, August.
    6. John Chiwuzulum Odozi & Timothy Taiwo Awoyemi & Bolarin Titus Omonona, 2010. "Household poverty and inequality: the implication of migrants’ remittances in Nigeria," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 191-199.
    7. Arjola Arapi-Gjini & Judith Möllers & Thomas Herzfeld, 2020. "Measuring Dynamic Effects of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality with Evidence from Kosovo," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 283-308, July.
    8. Akobeng, Eric, 2016. "Out of inequality and poverty: Evidence for the effectiveness of remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 207-223.
    9. Arjola Arapi-Gjini & Judith Möllers & Thomas Herzfeld, 2020. "Measuring Dynamic Effects of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality with Evidence from Kosovo," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 283-308, July.
    10. repec:sae:mrxval:v:48:y:2014:i:1:p:216-242 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Alina Petronela Haller & Rodica Cristina Butnaru & Gina Ionela Butnaru, 2018. "International Migrant Remittances in the Context of Economic and Social Sustainable Development. A Comparative Study of Romania-Bulgaria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-34, April.
    12. Nikolova, Milena & Roman, Monica & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2017. "Left behind but doing good? Civic engagement in two post-socialist countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 658-684.
    13. Koffi Sodokin, 2021. "Comparative analysis, cash transfers, household investment and inequality reduction in Togo," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(23), pages 2598-2614, May.
    14. Silvio Daidone & Benjamin Davis & Sudhanshu Handa & Paul Winters, 2019. "The Household and Individual-Level Productive Impacts of Cash Transfer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1401-1431.
    15. Le Thanh Tung & Pham Nang Thang, 2023. "Impact of Remittances on Income Inequality: Empirical Evidence from Emerging Economies," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Mihail Busu (ed.), Digital Economy and the Green Revolution, pages 287-297, Springer.
    16. Lisa Chauvet & Flore Gubert & Sandrine Mesplé-Somps, 2016. "Do migrants adopt new political attitudes from abroad? Evidence using a multi-sited exit-poll survey during the 2013 Malian elections," Post-Print hal-02161213, HAL.
    17. Bierkamp, Sina & Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Grote, Ulrike, 2021. "Environmental income and remittances: Evidence from rural central highlands of Vietnam," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    18. Cebotari, Victor & Siegel, Melissa & Mazzucato, Valentina, 2016. "Migration and the education of children who stay behind in Moldova and Georgia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 96-107.
    19. Marvin Joseph F. Montefrio & Yasmin Y. Ortiga & Ma. Rose Cristy B. Josol, 2014. "Inducing Development: Social Remittances and the Expansion of Oil Palm," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 216-242, March.
    20. Mubinzhon Abduvaliev & Ricardo Bustillo, 2020. "Impact of remittances on economic growth and poverty reduction amongst CIS countries," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 525-546, May.
    21. Paolo Boccagni & Jean-Michel Lafleur & Peggy Levitt, 2016. "Transnational Politics as Cultural Circulation: Toward a Conceptual Understanding of Migrant Political Participation on the Move," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 444-463, July.
    22. repec:sae:mrxval:v:32:y:1998:i:4:p:926-948 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Marilena Giannetti & Daniela Federici & Michele Raitano, 2009. "Migrant remittances and inequality in Central-Eastern Europe," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 289-307.
    24. John Chiwuzulum Odozi & Timothy Taiwo Awoyemi & Bolarin Titus Omonona, 2010. "Household poverty and inequality: the implication of migrants' remittances in Nigeria," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 191-199.
    25. Pan, Xiameng & Sun, Chang, 2024. "Internal migration, remittances and economic development," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    26. Aisha Nanyiti & John Sseruyange, 2022. "Do remittances impact on entrepreneurial activities? Evidence from a panel data analysis," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 553-565, May.
    27. Silvio Daidone & Benjamin Davis & Sudhanshu Handa & Paul Winters, 2019. "The Household and Individual-Level Productive Impacts of Cash Transfer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1401-1431.
    28. Berhe Mekonnen Beyene, 2014. "The Effects of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(10), pages 1380-1396, November.
    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. Chhavi Tiwari & Sankalpa Bhattacharjee & Pradeepta Sethi & Debkumar Chakrabarti, 2022. "Internal Migration and Rural Inequalities in India," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(4), pages 1673-1698, August.
    2. Bang, James T. & Mitra, Aniruddha & Wunnava, Phanindra V., 2016. "Do remittances improve income inequality? An instrumental variable quantile analysis of the Kenyan case," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 394-402.
    3. Vacaflores, Diego E., 2018. "Are remittances helping lower poverty and inequality levels in Latin America?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 254-265.
    4. Idrissa Diabate & Sandrine Mesplé-Somps, 2019. "Female genital mutilation and migration in Mali: do return migrants transfer social norms?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(4), pages 1125-1170, October.
    5. Amadi, Matthew Chima & ODOZI, JOHN CHIWUZULUM, 2024. "An Exploratory Analysis of Remittances, Financial Development, and Economic Growth Using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model for Nigeria," SocArXiv bygma, Center for Open Science.
    6. Afsal Kalangadan & Muhammad Thalil & Muhammad Rishad & Reshmi Ramachandran Sukumari, 2024. "Standard of Living of Migrant and Non-Migrant Households in Kerala: a Comparative Study Based on Migration Survey 2018," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, September.
    7. Fagbemi, Fisayo & Olufolahan, Toyin, 2019. "Capital inflows, financial development and poverty reduction in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 112784, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Apr 2019.
    8. repec:osf:socarx:bygma_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Khandker Wahedur Rahman, 2023. "International migration and the religious schooling of children in the home country: evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1963-2005, July.
    10. Joel OUDINET, 2021. "Introduction - L’impact de la migration sur le développement inclusif," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 53, pages 5-21.
    11. Kashif Imran & Evelyn S. Devadason & Cheong Kee Cheok, 2019. "Developmental Impacts of Remittances on Migrant-Sending Households: Micro-Level Evidence from Punjab, Pakistan," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 14(3), pages 338-366, December.
    12. Boburmirzo Ibrokhimov & Rashid Javed & Mazhar Mughal, 2023. "Migrants remittances and fertility in the Post-Soviet states," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(6), pages 574-596, August.
    13. Joel Oudinet, 2021. "L’impact de la migration sur le développement inclusif," Post-Print hal-04065384, HAL.
    14. Tuccio, Michele & Wahba, Jackline & Hamdouch, Bachir, 2016. "International Migration: Driver of Political and Social Change?," IZA Discussion Papers 9794, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Joseph I. Uduji & Elda N. Okolo-Obasi, 2021. "Empowerment of Rural Young People in Informal Farm Entrepreneurship: The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria’s Oil Producing Communities," Working Papers 21/033, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    16. Ignaciuk, Ada & Malevolti, Giulia & Scognamillo, Antonio & Sitko, Nicholas J., 2022. "Can food aid relax farmers’ constraints to adopting climate-adaptive agricultural practices? Evidence from Ethiopia, Malawi and the United Republic of Tanzania," ESA Working Papers 324073, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).
    17. Joseph I. Uduji & Elda N. Okolo-Obasi, 2021. "Empowerment of Rural Young People in Informal Farm Entrepreneurship: The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria’s Oil Producing Communities," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 21/033, African Governance and Development Institute..
    18. Uduji, Joseph Ikechukwu & Okolo-Obasi, Elda Nduka & Asongu, Simplice A., 2021. "Oil extraction in Nigeria's Ogoniland: The role of corporate social responsibility in averting a resurgence of violence," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    19. Marina Mastrorillo & Antonio Scognamillo & Camille Ginet & Rebecca Pietrelli & Marco D’Errico & Adriana Ignaciuk, 2024. "Is the self-reliance strategy sustainable? Evidence from assistance programmes to refugees in Uganda," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(6), pages 1587-1617, December.
    20. Imad El Hamma, 2018. "Migrant Remittances and Economic Growth: The Role of Financial Development and Institutional Quality," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 503-504, pages 123-142.
    21. Scognamillo, Antonio & Sitko, Nicholas J., 2021. "Leveraging social protection to advance climate-smart agriculture: An empirical analysis of the impacts of Malawi’s Social Action Fund (MASAF) on farmers’ adoption decisions and welfare outcomes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

    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:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04538-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    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.