Thumbnail Image

Does Migration Make Rural Households More Productive? Evidence from Mexico

Year of publication 2007

Author J. Edward Taylor and Alejandro López-Feldman;Agriculture and Economic Development Analysis Division

Product type Document

Series title FAO Agricultural Economics Working Paper

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The migration of labor out of rural areas and the flow of remittances from migrants to rural households is an increasingly important feature of less developed countries. This paper explores ways in which migration influences incomes and productivity of land and human capital in rural households over time, using new household survey data from Mexico. Our findings suggest that a massive increase in migration to the United States increased per-capita incomes via remittances and also by raising la nd productivity in migrant-sending households. They do not support the pessimistic view that migration discourages production in migrant-sending economies, nor the view implicit in separable agricultural household models that migration and remittances influence household incomes but not production.

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Meeting
    Intra-rural migration and pathways to greater well-being: Evidence from Tanzania 2016
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Migration between rural locations is prevalent in many developing countries and has been found to improve economic well-being in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the pathways through which intra-rural migration affects well-being in rural Tanzania. Specifically, we investigate whether such migration enables migrants to access more land, higher quality land, or greater off-farm income generating opportunities that may, in turn, translate into improved well-being. Drawing on a longitudinal data set that tracks rural migrants to their destinations, we employ a difference-in-differences approach, validated with a multinomial treatment effects model, and find that migration confers a benefit in consumption to migrants. Results do not indicate that this advantage is derived from larger farms or from more productive farmland. However, across all destinations, migrants are more likely to draw from off-farm and non-farm income sources, suggesting that even intra-rural migration represent s a shift away from agriculture, and this is likely the dominant channel through which migrants benefit. We conclude that intra-rural migration merits greater attention in the discourse on rural development and structural transformation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Do productive safety nets increase women’s agency and decision-making power within the household? Evidence from Ethiopia
    Report on Increased Agency and Decision-making by Women in the context of the Integrated Basic Social Services with Social Cash Transfer (IN-SCT) Pilot Programme
    2021
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Empowerment of women is considered to be a critical step towards poverty reduction. In addition, empowering women is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (specifically SDG5). Social protection programs such as cash transfers or public works are policy instruments that help rural food insecure households to cope and gradually transition out of poverty. They also have the potential to empower women through several pathways. In this report, we analyze women’s agency and decision-making power, which are a specific sub-domain of women’s empowerment, in the context of the Integrated Nutrition Social Cash Transfer (IN-SCT) pilot in Ethiopia. This paper is being published in the context of a partnership between FAO, IFAD and the Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES) and its Centro de Estudios en Desarrollo Económico (CEDE) based in Bogotá, Colombia.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    Internal and International Migration from Africa: Evidences from living standard and migration surveys 2017
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This information note summarizes findings on outmigration patterns from Sub-Saharan countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda, obtained from two macro categories of household surveys implemented by the World Bank. In particular, the note answers the questions: Who migrates? How many? To where? Why? It also provides an overview of FAO’s work to address the root causes of distress migration and enhance the developmental impacts of migration governance systems.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.