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Escaping Famine through Seasonal Migration

Author

Listed:
  • Gharad Bryan

    (London School of Economics)

  • Shyamal Chowdhury

    (University of Sydney)

  • Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak

    (School of Management, Yale University)

Abstract

Hunger during pre-harvest lean seasons is widespread in the agrarian areas of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. We randomly assign an $8.50 incentive to households in rural Bangladesh to out-migrate during the lean season. The incentive induces 22% of households to send a seasonal migrant, their consumption at the origin increases significantly, and treated households are 8-10 percentage points more likely to re-migrate 1 and 3 years after the incentive is removed. These facts can be explained qualitatively by a model in which migration is risky, mitigating risk requires individual-specific learning, and some migrants are sufficiently close to subsistence such that failed migration is very costly. We document evidence consistent with this model using heterogeneity analysis and additional experimental variation, but calibrations with forward-looking households that can save up to migrate suggest that it is difficult for the model to quantitatively match the data. We conclude with extensions to the model that could provide a better quantitative accounting of the behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Gharad Bryan & Shyamal Chowdhury & Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, 2013. "Escaping Famine through Seasonal Migration," Working Papers 1032, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    • Handle: RePEc:egc:wpaper:1032
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Douglas Gollin & David Lagakos & Michael E. Waugh, 2014. "The Agricultural Productivity Gap," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 939-993.
    2. Mobarak, Ahmed Musfiq & Rosenzweig, Mark, 2013. "Risk, Insurance and Wages in General Equilibrium," Center Discussion Papers 161442, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    3. World Bank, 2014. "More Jobs, Better Jobs : A Priority for Egypt," World Bank Publications - Reports 20584, The World Bank Group.
    4. Natasha Stoudmann & Lena M. Reibelt & Christian A. Kull & Claude A. Garcia & Mirana Randriamalala & Patrick O. Waeber, 2019. "Biting the Bullet: Dealing with the Annual Hunger Gap in the Alaotra, Madagascar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, April.
    5. Lee, Yu Na, 2015. "Effect of Price Risk on Migration: Evidence from Ethiopian Rural Households," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205812, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. BenYishay, Ariel & Mobarak, A. Mushfiq, 2013. "Communicating with Farmers through Social Networks," Center Discussion Papers 156233, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    7. Priya Manwaring & Tanner Regan, 2023. "Public Disclosure and Tax Compliance: Evidence from Uganda," CSAE Working Paper Series 2023-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Seasonal Migration; Bangladesh; Risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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