Push and Pull

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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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Shrestha, Maheshwor
Format: Working Paper biblioteca
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2017-02
Subjects:migration, conflict, liquidity constraints, remittances, rainfall,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/318581486560991532/Push-and-pull-a-study-of-international-migration-from-Nepal
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/26024
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spelling dig-okr-10986260242024-06-23T08:56:56Z Push and Pull A Study of International Migration from Nepal Shrestha, Maheshwor migration conflict liquidity constraints remittances rainfall 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. 2017-02-08T22:34:23Z 2017-02-08T22:34:23Z 2017-02 Working Paper Document de travail Documento de trabajo http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/318581486560991532/Push-and-pull-a-study-of-international-migration-from-Nepal https://hdl.handle.net/10986/26024 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7965 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank application/pdf text/plain World Bank, Washington, DC
institution Banco Mundial
collection DSpace
country Estados Unidos
countrycode US
component Bibliográfico
access En linea
databasecode dig-okr
tag biblioteca
region America del Norte
libraryname Biblioteca del Banco Mundial
language English
en_US
topic migration
conflict
liquidity constraints
remittances
rainfall
migration
conflict
liquidity constraints
remittances
rainfall
spellingShingle migration
conflict
liquidity constraints
remittances
rainfall
migration
conflict
liquidity constraints
remittances
rainfall
Shrestha, Maheshwor
Push and Pull
description 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.
format Working Paper
topic_facet migration
conflict
liquidity constraints
remittances
rainfall
author Shrestha, Maheshwor
author_facet Shrestha, Maheshwor
author_sort Shrestha, Maheshwor
title Push and Pull
title_short Push and Pull
title_full Push and Pull
title_fullStr Push and Pull
title_full_unstemmed Push and Pull
title_sort push and pull
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2017-02
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/318581486560991532/Push-and-pull-a-study-of-international-migration-from-Nepal
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/26024
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