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Migration and technological change in rural households: complements or substitutes?

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  • Mariapia MENDOLA

Abstract

In this paper we study the interrelationship between determinants of migration, conceived as a family strategy, and the potential impact of having a migrant household member on people left behind. Labour migration is often related to poverty but given its lumpy-investment nature, poverty may constitute a motivation to migrate as well as a constraint to do it. We use cross-sectional household data from two rural regions of Bangladesh to test whether migration is a form of income diversification strategy that significantly influences the risk-taking behaviour of source farm households in agricultural activities. We account for heterogeneity of migration constraints differentiating between domestic (temporary and permanent) and international moving destinations. We find that richer and large-holder households are more likely to participate in costly high-return migration (i. e. international migration) and employ modern technologies, thereby achieving higher productivity. Poorer households, on the other hand, are not able to overcome entry costs of moving abroad and fall back on migration with low entry costs, and low returns (i. e. domestic migration); the latter does not help them to achieve production enhancements and may act as a poverty-trap locking households into persistent poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Mariapia MENDOLA, 2005. "Migration and technological change in rural households: complements or substitutes?," Departmental Working Papers 2005-15, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    • Handle: RePEc:mil:wpdepa:2005-15
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mariapia Mendola, 2006. "Production Choices of Farm Households: Institutional and Behaviourial Aspects in Economic Theory," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 2, May.
    2. Guido Friebel & Juan Gallego & Mariapia Mendola, 2013. "Xenophobic attacks, migration intentions, and networks: evidence from the South of Africa," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 555-591, April.
    3. Francesca Marchetta, 2008. "Migration and non farm activities as income diversification strategies: the case of Northern Ghana," Working Papers - Economics wp2008_16.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    4. Mariapia MENDOLA, 2005. "Farm households production theories: a review of institutional and behavioural responses," Departmental Working Papers 2005-01, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    5. Hernandez-Hernandez, Emilio & Sam, Abdoul G. & Gonzalez-Vega, Claudio & Chen, Joyce J., 2012. "Does the insurance effect of public and private transfers favor financial deepening? evidence from rural Nicaragua," MPRA Paper 38339, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Matthieu Delpierre & Bertrand Verheyden, 2014. "Remittances, savings and return migration under uncertainty," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-43, December.
    7. McCarthy, Nancy & Carletto, Calogero & Davis, Benjamin & Maltsoglou, Irini, "undated". "Assessing the impact of massive out-migration on agriculture," ESA Working Papers 289053, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).

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    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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