Push and Pull : A Study of International Migration from Nepal
This paper studies migration choices in the presence of liquidity constraints and varying costs of migration. This paper presents a simple theoretical framework that analyzes migration response to both push and pull factors in such settings. This f...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/318581486560991532/Push-and-pull-a-study-of-international-migration-from-Nepal http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26024 |
| Summary: | This paper studies migration choices in
the presence of liquidity constraints and varying costs of
migration. This paper presents a simple theoretical
framework that analyzes migration response to both push and
pull factors in such settings. This framework implies that a
shock to the push factors in the origin leads to
differential observed response to migration to various
destinations, as the shocks affect different parts of the
wealth distribution. The implications of this framework are
tested in the context of international migration from Nepal,
using a panel of 452 villages observed at three periods in
the 2000s. The analysis uses rainfall shocks and deaths due
to conflict as "push" shocks and growth in
manufacturing and construction in destination countries as
"pull" shocks. The findings show that a rainfall
shock that increases household income by US$ 100 increases
migration to India by 54 percent but has no effect on
migration elsewhere. An increase in conflict, which reduces
consumption and amenity of the wealthier more, increases
migration abroad, especially from urban areas. An increase
in demand from the destination countries, especially the
Gulf countries and Malaysia, has strong effects on migration
to those destinations. These findings are consistent with
the theoretical framework, and suggest the presence of large
liquidity constraints. An increase in income can boost
migration to India, whereas a reduction in the cost of
migration might increase profitable migration elsewhere. The
responsiveness to "pull" shocks suggests that
households are willing to take advantage of these opportunities. |
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