Migration, Remittances and Forests : Disentangling the Impact of Population and Economic Growth on Forests

International migration has increased rapidly in recent decades and this has been accompanied by a remarkable increase in transfers made by migrants to their home countries. This paper investigates the effect of the rural economic growth brought about by migration and remittances on Nepal's Himalayan forests. The authors assemble a unique village-panel dataset combining remote sensing data on land use and forest cover change with data from the census and multiple rounds of living standards surveys to test various inter-relationships between population, economic growth and forests. The results suggest that rural economic growth spurred by remittances has had an overall positive impact on forests. The paper also finds that remittances caused an increase in rural wages and an increase in income, but a decrease in land prices. Considered together, however, the relationship between forests and remittances is driven largely through the income channel, indicating that the demand for amenities provided by forests in the rural Nepali setting may have been more important than factor prices in influencing land use changes for the period of the study.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Bhattarai, Keshav, Tiwari, Sailesh
Language:	English
Published:	2011-12-01
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE VALUE, ADULT POPULATION, ADVERSE WEATHER, AFFORESTATION, AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES, AGRICULTURAL ENCROACHMENT, AGRICULTURAL LAND, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY, AGRICULTURE, ALLOCATION OF LAND, BARREN LAND, BRAIN DRAIN, CAPITAL MARKETS, CENSUSES, CHANGE IN POPULATION, CHILD LABOR, CIVIL WAR, CLIMATE, CLIMATE CHANGE, COAL, COASTAL AREAS, COMMON LAND, COMMUNITY FOREST, COMMUNITY FORESTRY, COMMUNITY FORESTS, COMPETITIVE MARKETS, CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION, CONSTANT RETURNS TO SCALE, CULTURAL CHANGE, CULTURAL PRACTICE, DEFORESTATION, DEGRADED FOREST, DEGRADED FOREST LAND, DEMAND FOR SERVICES, DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DISASTERS, DROUGHT, DRY SEASON, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, ECONOMICS, ECONOMICS OF IMMIGRATION, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, ELASTICITY OF DEMAND, ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION, ENVIRONMENTAL, ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS, ENVIRONMENTAL SHOCK, ENVIRONMENTAL SHOCKS, EQUILIBRIUM, ETHNIC GROUPS, EXPENDITURES, FAMILY MEMBERS, FERTILITY, FIREWOOD, FLOW OF INFORMATION, FLOW OF PEOPLE, FODDER, FOREST, FOREST ACT, FOREST AREA, FOREST AREAS, FOREST CONDITIONS, FOREST COVER, FOREST COVER CHANGE, FOREST DEGRADATION, FOREST EXTRACTION, FOREST GROWTH, FOREST LABOR, FOREST LAND, FOREST OFFICERS, FOREST PRODUCT, FOREST PRODUCTS, FOREST RESOURCES, FOREST SECTOR, FOREST USE, FOREST USER, FORESTRY, FORESTRY MANAGEMENT, FORESTRY SECTOR, FORESTS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES, GREEN REVOLUTION, HOST COUNTRY, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN SETTLEMENT, ILLEGAL LOGGING, IMMIGRANTS, IMPACT OF MIGRATION, IMPACT OF POPULATION, INCIDENCE OF POVERTY, INFLOW OF REMITTANCES, INTERNATIONAL BORDERS, INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION, ISSUES, KINSHIP, LABOR FORCE, LABOR INPUTS, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR SUPPLY, LAND ALLOCATION, LAND AREA, LAND COVER, LAND COVER CHANGE, LAND COVER TYPE, LAND RECLAMATION, LAND RENTAL, LAND RENTS, LAND USE, LAND USE CHANGES, LAND USE DATA, LAND USE DECISIONS, LAND-COVER, LANDSCAPE, LARGE TRACTS OF FOREST, LIVESTOCK, LIVING STANDARDS, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, LOCAL COMMUNITY, LOCAL ENVIRONMENT, LOGGING, MARGINAL PRODUCT, MARGINAL REVENUE, MATURE FORESTS, MIGRANT, MIGRANT WORKERS, MIGRANTS, MIGRATION, MIGRATION FLOWS, MINES, MOUNTAINOUS AREAS, MOUNTAINS, MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE, NATIONAL FORESTS, NATIONAL LEVEL, NATURAL DISASTERS, NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCE, NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES, NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS, NUMBER OF MIGRANTS, OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE, PEACE, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POLITICAL INSTABILITY, POPULATION CENSUS, POPULATION DENSITIES, POPULATION DENSITY, POPULATION GROWTH, POPULATION SIZE, POPULATION VARIABLE, POTENTIAL MIGRANTS, PRICE ELASTICITY OF DEMAND, PRIVATE FORESTS, PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, PROGRESS, PUBLIC GOOD, PURCHASING POWER, PURCHASING POWER PARITY, RAINFALL, REFUGES, REMITTANCE, REMITTANCES, REMOTE SENSING DATA, RESPECT, ROAD DENSITY, ROADS, RURAL AREAS, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, RURAL POPULATION, RURAL POVERTY, SATELLITE DATA, SATELLITE IMAGERY, SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS, SOCIAL MOBILIZATION, SPATIAL MOBILITY, SPILLOVER, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, TEMPORARY MIGRATION, TIMBER, URBAN AREAS, URBAN CENTER, URBAN CENTERS, USE OF FORESTS, VEGETATION, VILLAGE FOREST, VILLAGES, WAGES, WAR, WARS, WEATHER SHOCK, WEATHER SHOCKS, WORK FORCE, WORKFORCE, WORKING POPULATION, WORLD POPULATION,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20111212125003 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3676
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